Edisi 09 April 2014 | International Bali Post

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Entertainment

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Mamma Mia: ABBA mark 40 years since breakthrough Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Four decades on from the flares, fame and fabulousness, the members of ABBA say they have no regrets — not even about the clothes.

Members of the Swedish supergroup marked 40 years since their international breakthrough hit “Waterloo” on Monday with a party for hundreds of guests at London’s Tate Modern gallery.

Bjorn Ulvaeus said he felt “extremely proud and humbled” by decades of success that includes hit records, the stage and movie musical “Mamma Mia” and a Stockholm museum dedicated to the band. And Frida Lyngstad said she was proud of ABBA’s ultra-70s look of big boots and spangly jumpsuits, documented in a new photo book about

the band.

“It was our youth, it was our time, and we decided how we wanted to dress ourselves onstage,” said Lyngstad. “And it was fun.” She said some performers “are even more courageous nowadays, if you think of Lady Gaga, for example.”

Lyngstad said she could not explain the global success of ABBA, which rocketed when the band won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo.” The quartet’s blend of poppy melodies, lush harmonies and slick arrangements helped them sell more than 400 million records around the world.

“We never had a formula,” Lyngstad said. “We just did what we loved the most. And the great thing was maybe that the four of us met and started to work together the way we did. Two great songwriters, Bjorn and Benny, together

with Agnetha’s and my voices.” The foursome eventually fractured, with the band’s two married couples — Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog— divorcing.

But Ulvaeus said the four of them recently met up, and “the chemistry is still there.” “We bonded instantly,” he said. So are they tempted to make fans’ wishes come true with an ABBA reunion? Lyngstad laughed. “No,” she said.

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

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Ship hunts for more ‘pings’ in Malaysia jet search

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Ukraine feels nervous as big powers debate fate

Bayern Munich has trouble against English clubs

Page 8

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General election

28 countries to observe polling day

Swedish singer’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, left, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, of the pop group ABBA, pose on the red carpet for the band’s International anniversary party at the Tate Modern in central London, Monday, April 7, 2014.

‘Captain America’ largest April opener with $95M

WEATHER FORECAST 23 - 32 Dps

IBP

Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Images

JAKARTA - Representatives from 28 countries visited the General Elections Commission (KPU) building here on Tuesday to report their presence on the polling day on Wednesday, according to report by state news agency, Antara.

“They (visitors) wish to see how the general elections are being carried out in Indonesia, especially across a number of polling stations,” Central KPU commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay stated after receiving the guests.

Indonesians across the country

will go to the polls on April 9 to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), provincial and district/city legislative assemblies (DPRD I and II) and the Regional Representative Counci; (DPD) in the legislative elections.

Hadar Nafis Gumay added that

KPU welcomed those who wished to witness the process of polling and vote counting at polling stations to know how democracy is implemented in the country.

As visitors, he pointed out, they have no authority to give public opinion regarding their observation.

“They are mere visitors and not observers and so they need not make reports and cannot publicize their opinions formally regarding what they see,” he remarked.

The visitors from 28 foreign

countries and independent groups totaling 154 will see the polling situation and atmosphere in various cities such as Yogyakarta, Aceh, Ambon and Jakarta.

The Executive Director of “Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi” (Perludem - Association for General Elections and Democracy), Titi Anggraini, stated that Perludem had brought 10 visitors from three countries namely China, Bangladesh and the US.” “They are divided into two teams to observe the implementation of

the general elections in Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Later this evening they will take a tour to observe the preparations for the legislative elections,” she commented.

The foreign visitors came to see the implementation of the world’s second largest elections after the US done in one day with a massive number of candidates involved.

The visitors came from among others Germany, Russia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Hungary, Malaysia and Libya.

Continued on page 6

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — It took in less than the weekend estimates of $96.2 million, but “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was still the weekend’s box office hero, setting the record for the largest domestic April debut with a solid $95 million. The comic-book-adapted sequel, starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, continues the massive success of Disney and Marvel’s superhero franchise.

Paramount’s biblical epic “Noah,” featuring performances by Russell Crowe in the title role, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson, dropped drastically in its second week. After debuting with $44 million, it earned only $17 million domestically. But overall, it has still earned $72.4 million domestically.

In the world of young adult adaptations, Lionsgate’s sci-fi thriller “Divergent,” starring Shailene Woodley, ranked No. 3 with $13 million. It has now gained more than $114 million stateside after its third week in theaters.

The top 10 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

In this Monday, March 24, 2014 photo, actress Scarlett Johansson stands between Samuel L. Jackson, left, and Chris Evans during a publicity event ahead of the April release of their movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” in Beijing.

1. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Disney 2. “Noah,” Paramount 3. “Divergent,” Lionsgate 4. “God’s Not Dead,” Freestyle Releasing 5. “Muppets Most Wanted,” Disney 6. “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Fox Searchlight 7. “Mr. Peabody And Sherman,” 20th Century Fox 8. “Sabotage,” Open Road.

9. “Need for Speed,” Disney 10. “Non-Stop,” Universal

REUTERS/Beawiharta

Men hold a sign showing the polling station’s number, as the station is prepared for the upcoming parliamentary election in Jakarta April 8, 2014. The parliamentary election will be held on April 9.

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International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Bali News

Increasing, awareness to send children to disabled school Bali Post

SINGARAJA - Awareness of parents in Buleleng to send their children to school of disabled (SLB) begins to increase recently. It is evidenced by the data of students in the SLB-B Negeri Singaraja where until this year there are 118 people and SLB-C Negeri Singaraja has 79 people. The number of student drastically increases compared to several years earlier.

It was expressed by the Principal of the SLB-B Negeri Singaraja, Wayan Sri Armini, on the sidelines of the opening the competition among the students and employees of the school of disabled throughout Buleleng, Monday (Apr 7) at the SLB Singaraja. The competition was held to mark the celebration of the 410th anniversary of the Singaraja town.

Furthermore, Armini said that some parents were reluctant to send their children with congenital defects or lower intelligence quotient (IQ) to SLB Negeri Singaraja. They admitted to feel ashamed due to such disability or low IQ. Even, on one side the school authority (SLB) had visited the children with disabilities or low IQ to be educated in the SLB Negeri Singaraja, but their parents prohibited with a variety of reasons such as embarrassment because they were handicapped children or parents said to have no time to supervise their children when the education was given in special school. For this condition, the children who should take the same education as normal children were forced not to have the right to get optimal education. “Formerly, we were already looking for the disabled

children to their home to be educated in special school but they were not allowed to attend school for reasons of shame or not enough time to take care of the children in special school,” she said.

Although hampered by such barriers, added Armini, due to the support of local government that intensively made socialization to villages, the parents finally sent their children to SLB Negeri Singaraja. They were increasingly aware and willing to send their beloved children to get education as the right of every human being. Other than inspiring and supporting their children at school, local government also paid enough attention to facilities and infrastructure in the SLB Singaraja. Armini exemplified, children whose house was far from the town had been prepared a dormitory at the SLB, so that parents no longer needed to look for a place to stay for their children attending the special school. In addition, the tuition fee for all students was also free of charge and they were getting help from local government and from donations.

“We are grateful the government has paid quite a lot of attention and

The students of disabled school in Singaraja we struggle to help children who need special treatment so they can attend school. And this received a positive response from parents,” she explained.

Armini added that based on the data up to this year, the student of SLB-B Negeri Singaraja amounted to 118 people with the disabilities such as mute and deaf. Meanwhile, the SLB-C had 79 students and most of these children had lower IQ compared to normal children in general. All the students had got education ranging from elementary to high school/ vocational school.

Meanwhile, one of the student parents, Luh Sri Mirahyoni, from Bungkulan, Sawan subdistrict, said the service of education in the SLB Negeri

Singaraja had been very good. She admitted that previously never thought to send her son with hearing disorder to school. However, after attending the socialization she finally realized and decided to send her son to the SLB Negeri Singaraja. After schooling, the only son of three children in the family indicated a quite good progress and his IQ had increased.

“It has been very good and we are also assisted.

Frankly speaking, we never thought of sending our son to school because his hearing is not normal.

After attending school, our only son could get the same education as other normal children,” she affirmed. (mud)

AMLAPURA - The act of the former British boxer, Dean, 50, seemed to mimic the former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson who fought while biting the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield. When fighting, the offender Dean from Britain bit the ear of victim Robert Felder, 47, from Germany to tear.

The victim’s wife did not accept her husband Robert to be persecuted. The witness then reported

Dean to police station. After that, the offender Dean was arrested by police, Monday (Apr 7) and taken to Karangasem Police. Chief of the Criminal Investigator, Dewa Anom, with permission from Karangasem Police Chief justified the case on Monday. The report of victim’s wife had been followed up. The offender was arrested. Allegedly the offender persecuted the victim as a result of getting emotional due to misunderstanding where the victim and the offender were equally

drunk of alcohol. They both fought in the offender’s house in Manggis, Karangasem.

Other than biting the victim’s left ear to tear, the victim’s abdomen was also strongly kicked by the offender who was a former boxer.

Face of the victim was afflicted by the offender’s boxing to cause bloody nose as well. Besides, the victim suffered a bruise in his left eye and abrasions on the cheek.

The persecution was then arbitrated by victim’s wife. The victim

was then rushed to a clinic in Manggis. Unfortunately, the clinic officers were unable to handle the victim so the victim having the address at Taman Mulya Housing Jimbaran was then referred to Sanglah Hospital.

The victim’s wife originally went to Karangasem because she received information if her husband Robert got traffic accident. When the witness asked for information to her husband, in fact, it was just known if her husband was beaten

by the offender.

Prior to the incident, the victim who is a business colleague of the offender was drinking alcohol in the Kassa Mareela Villa at Buitan, Manggis. After getting drunk, the offender hit the victim. But the punch of the drunken victim was weak, so it did not cause the offender to get injured. But the victim, said the witnesses, kept acting up so as to make the offender lose temper. The victim also received the aftermath from the offender. (013)

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(0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

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IBP

JIMBARAN - InterContinental Bali Resort is proud to be awarded as “Popular for Beach Holiday” 2014 by Holiday Check. Holiday Check Award 2014 is given based on the the number of positive reviews and the recommendations from the guests who have stayed and experienced the beachfront luxurious services at the InterContinental Bali Resort. haven offering discerning travelers a ‘resort within a resort’ that further enriches their holiday experience.

“This is truly an earnest token of appreciation by our guests and partners whom I would like to express my sheer gratitude.” comments Mr. Michel Chertouh, General Manager of InterContinental Bali Resort.

InterContinental Bali Resort has also been a recipient of many other prestigious and acclaimed awards by various reputable institutions and accredited agencies such as: Fox News top 10 family resorts worldwide, TUI Holly Award, Best Resort Hotel Asia Pacific by Business Traveller Asia Pacific, to name a few.

Calendar Event for March 5 through May 21, 2014 IBP/File

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

InterContinental Bali awarded “Most Popular Beach Holiday” The award is given to a selected few popular hotels worldwide and was presented in an official ceremony that took place in Berlin this year.

InterContinental Bali Resort stands out from the other resorts on the island by the fact that it is located in one of the most beautiful bays of Bali with azure , clear sea – the Jimbaran Bay, and encompasses well manicured tropical gardens as well. In this environment, the guest can enjoy unobtrusive comfort of the resort, perfect service and specially designed spa treatments and recreational activities all year round.

Besides the location, the resort also offers its premier accommodation at Club InterContinental that truly re defines luxury - an exclusive

Former British boxer bites ear of his friend Bali Post

Activities

International

5 Mar Hari Urip 6 Mar Hari Patetegan 7 Mar Pengeradanan Pura Dadia Agung Pasek Kabayan Penebel Tabanan 8 Mar Saraswati Pura Pasek tangkas Gempinis Dalang Tabanan Pura Pasek Gelgel Sayan Abiansemal Pura Watu Gunung Bima Pura Agung Jagat Karana Surabaya Pura Aditya Jaya Jakarta Pura Pemaksan Banyuning Timur Pura Agung Wira Loka Cimahi Jawa Barat 9 Mar Hari Banyu Pinaruh 10 Mar Soma Ribek Pura Jati Jembrana Pura Kawitan Bayu Gaiyang Bangli Tirta Wening Surabaya Pura Desa Lingga Wana Abang Karangasem 11 Mar Sabuh Mas 12 Mar Hari Pagerwesi Pura Labang Sindu JiwaUbud Pura Kehen Bangli Pura Wira Bhuana Magelang Jawa tengah Pura Padang Sakti Denpasar Timur Pura Payogan Agung Ketewel Gianyar Pura Gaduh Pangiasan Dauh Puri Denpasar Pura Masceti Tampak Siring Pura Dalem Ularan Denpasar Pura Siwa Penebel Tabanan Pura Luhur Sliki Banyuwangi Pura Gunung Lebah Ubud Pura Puseh Sukawati 15 Mar Purnama Sasih Kesanga Pura Nataran Sasih Pejeng Gianyar Pura Bukit Mentik Gunung lebah Batur Kintamani 17 Mar Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan 22 Mar Tumpek Landep Pura Mutering Jagat Dalem Sidakarya

Denpasar Pura Agung Pasek Tabanan Pura Pasek Tangkas Tabanan Pura Kerta Banyuning Buleleng Pura Dalem Tenggaling Singapadu Gianyar Pura Bhujangga Jembrana Pura Dalem pingit Tegalalang Pura Penataran Pande Pandean Mengwi Pura Ida Ratu Pande Besakih Pura Penataran AGung Tulikup Pura Kumuda Saraswati Ubud Pura Batur Arya Tabanan 23 Mar Radite Umanis Ukir Sanggah Gede Dukuh Segening Tegal Tugu Gianyar 26 Mar Buda Cemeng Ukir Pura Pajenengan Kawitan Arya Gelgel Kelungkung Pura Pasar Agung Besakih Pura Pasek Bendesa Legian Kuta Badung Pura Gde Gunung Agung Munggu Badung Pura Puseh Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Peruncak Badung Pura Pasek Bendesa Hyang Krobokan Badung Pura Kereban Langit Mengwi Badung 28 Mar Melasti Pakiyisan Ke Segara Pura Pasek Gelgel Kukuh Marga 30 Mar Tilem Kesanga Tawur Agung 31 Mar Hari Raya Nyepi 1 May Buda Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan

2 May Bhatara Sri Ida Ratu Geng Besakih Pura Penataran Agung Besakih Ida Ratu Raja Puraus Besakih Merajan Saloding Besakih 6 May Anggara Kasih Juluwangi Pura Thirta Harum Tegal Wangi Bangli Pura Baratan Baturiti Pura Batu Klotok Klungkung

Pura Pasek Tohjiwa Wanasari Tabanan Pura Ibu Wanagiri Selemadeg Tabanan Pura Manik Bingin Dukuh Sidemen 7 May Pura Penataran Gana Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Gede Pande Bangli Pura Puncak Sari Sangeh Abian Semal Pura Puseh Penegil Dharma Kubu Tambahan Bangli Pura Dalem Maya Blahbatuh Gianyar Pura Linggih Betara Kayu Selem Penataran Agung Besakih 13 May Purnama Sasih Jiyestha Pura Dwija Warsa Malang Pura Pucak Tinggah Angsri Baturiti Pura Kawitan Luhur Bhujangga Jati Luwih Penebel Pura Kawitan Batur Pande Tonja Tonja Denpasar Pura Penataran Agung Sidemen Karangasem Pura Maospahit Grenceng Denpasar 15 May Sugihan Jawa Pura Kawitan Tangkas Kori Agung Tangkas Klungkung Pura Siang Kangin Peninjoan Tembuku Bangli Pura Ida Ratu Mas Penataran Agung Besakih Pura Ida Bhatara Bang Tulus Besakih 16 May Sugihan Bali Dan Kajeng Kliwon 18 May Penyekeban 19 May Penyajaan Galungan 20 May Penampahan Galungan 21 May Hari Raya Galungan Pura Wakika Kupang NTT Pura Agung Girinatha Sumbawa Besar NTB Pura Dukuh Sakti Dukuh Kediri Tabanan Pura Atambuananta Kutamba NTT Pura Webananta Kupang NTT Pura Giripati Mulawarman Pontianak Pura Mustika Dharma Cijantung Jakarta Timur

IBP/Courtesy of InterContinental

Balinese Temple Ceremony Every Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

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

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

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

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

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Technology

International

High-tech items giving deaf-blind online access Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2001 file photo, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stands in New York’s Times Square to promote the new Windows XP operating system.

End of Windows XP support spells trouble for some

SANDS POINT, N.Y. — Tanisha Verdejo loves to surf the Internet for online shopping deals. She chats on Facebook, learns about new recipes and enjoys sending emails to friends and family. Verdejo, who can’t see or hear, could do none of that a year ago.

The 40-year-old New Yorker lives in a group home in Port Washington and is among the thousands of people with combined hearing and vision loss to have benefited from a pilot program called iCanConnect. The initiative provides low-income deaf-blind individuals with the most up-to-date telecommunications devices for free and special training to use them.

“For me, it’s opened up my whole world,” Verdejo said through a sign language interpreter at the Helen Keller National Center in suburban Long Island. The center, along with the Boston-based Perkins School for the Blind, is working with state agencies and others around the country to distribute items like refreshable Braille displays, amplified telephones and computer programs that allow for large print displays for those who may be vision-impaired but not entirely blind. Much of the equipment is compatible with Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad and connect via Bluetooth.

“Modern technology has rapidly progressed, and we are available to provide individuals with combined vision and hearing loss the best technology and telecommunications tools for their individual needs,” said Thomas J. Edwards, president of Helen Keller Services for the Blind, which has 11 regional offices around the country.

For Verdejo and others, the changes have been dramatic. “I’m able now to access anything I want,” Verdejo said. “I mean, I have all these apps here and can see anything now. I see it through my Braille device.”

Established by the Federal Communications Commission, the pilot program allocates $10 million annually for low-income deaf-blind people to get the equipment. The program, which is in the second year of a three-year study, is open to individuals earning less than $44,680 annually, with income limits slightly higher in Hawaii and Alaska.

An estimated 2,000 people have benefited in the program’s first 18 months, said Betsy McGinnity, a Perkins spokeswoman. She said she was confident it could be extended beyond the three-year study period.

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — Microsoft will end support for the persistently popular Windows XP on Tuesday, and with an estimated 30 percent of businesses and consumers still using the 12-yearold operating system, the move could put everything from the operations of heavy industry to the identities of everyday people in danger. “What once was considered low-hanging fruit by hackers now has a big neon bull’s eye on it,” says Patrick Thomas, a security consultant at the San Jose, California-based firm Neohapsis.

Microsoft has released a handful of Windows operating systems since 2001, but XP’s popularity and the durability of the computers it was installed on kept it around longer than expected. Analysts say that if a PC is more than five years old, chances are it’s running XP. While users can still run XP after Tuesday, Microsoft says it will no longer provide new security updates, issued fixes to non-security related problems or offer online technical content updates. The Redmond, Wash.-based company says it will provide anti-malwarerelated updates through July 14, 2015, but warns that the tweaks could be of limited help on an outdated operating system.

Most industry observers say they recognize that the time for Microsoft to end support for such a dated system has come, but the move poses both security and op-

erational risks for the remaining users. In addition to home computers, XP is used to run everything from water treatment facilities and power plants to small businesses like doctor’s offices.

Thomas says XP appealed to a wide variety of people and businesses that saw it as a reliable workhorse and many chose to stick with it instead of upgrading to Windows Vista, Windows 7 or 8.

Thomas notes that companies that don’t like risk, generally don’t like change. As a result, companies most likely to still be using XP include banks and financial services companies, along with health care providers. He also pointed to schools from the university level down, saying that they often don’t have enough money to fund equipment upgrades.

Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of

Malwarebytes, says that without patches to fix bugs in the software XP PCs will be prone to freezing up and crashing, while the absence of updated security related protections make the computers susceptible to hackers.

He added that future security patches released for Microsoft’s newer systems will serve as a way for nefarious people to reverse engineer ways to breach now-unprotected Windows XP computers.

“It’s going to be interesting to say the least,” he says. “There are plenty of black hats out there that are looking for the first vulnerability and will be looking at Windows 7 and 8 to find those vulnerabilities. And if you’re able to find a vulnerability in XP, it’s pretty much a silver key.” Those weaknesses can affect businesses both large and small.

Bali News

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Length of stay kindled

by Asian market surge

3

Bali Post

DENPASAR - The surge in tourist arrival from the Asian tourism market is not necessarily bringing in a positive impact on tourism in Bali. Precisely, such dominant market negatively contributed to the decline in the length of stay of foreign tourists on the Island of the Gods.

“Now, the foreign tourist arrival in Bali is dominated by Asian market, so the length of stay of travelers diminishes. Such condition will continue to decline considering the Asian markets such as China tends to continuously increase,” said Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) of Bali, Ngurah Wijaya, in Denpasar.

He said the length of stay of the Asian travelers was lower than that of European travelers.

Moreover, the presence of the rich from the market to Bali was still relatively low. In addition, a decrease in the length of stay was also caused by the air policy of the Indonesian government.

“Now, the arrival of Chinese travelers has been rated second after Australia, followed by Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea,” he said.

Ngurah Wijaya admitted the quality of tourists coming to Bali was much lower than those in the 1980s. At that time, they were recorded to have spending money reaching USD 300 per person with the length of stay reaching 14 days.

“Now, the tourists arrival amounts to 2.5 million per year, but their spending money only reaches around USD 100 per person with the length of stay up to 3 days,” he said.

Such conditions were assessed to happen in harmony with the shifting concept of tourism in

Bali from the tourism of special interest to mass tourism. To that end, the Bali tourism should change the paradigm from mass tourism to special interest (segmented tourism). Development of special interest tourism would boost the economic growth in the whole of Bali.

“The most appropriate tourism for Bali is not mass tourism, but tourism of special interest because it can attract tourists who can spend something with a higher cost. It includes the spiritual tourism, cultural tourism, golfing tourism and others. To that end, we are encouraging the government to create a segmented tourism,” he explained.

The development of special interest tourism would also have an impact on improving the economic and social welfare. With the high level of expenditure and longer length of stay, their consumption would automatically increase as well. “When the length of stay is only 3 days, there will be no spread of travelers to the North and West of Bali. And the amount spent will be less,” he said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bali, Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati previously admitted that an increase in tourist arrivals to Bali was not proportional to the increase in room occupancy. Tourists who came to Bali continued to increase while the hotel occupancy rate in Bali

IBP/Eka Adhiyasa

The surge in tourist arrival from the Asian tourism market is not necessarily bringing in a positive impact on tourism in Bali. Precisely, such dominant market negatively contributed to the decline in the length of stay of foreign tourists on the Island of the Gods. tended to decrease.

“The increase in tourist arrival is not necessarily a benchmark for the increase in room occupancy. This is partly due to the length of stay of travelers. The decrease in occupancy rate happens due to the addition of new accommodation such as hotels, villas, apartments including other

properties,” he explained.

He mentioned the length of stay of travelers in Bali continued to fall. If in the year 2011 the length of stay of travelers reached 3.9 days, while in 2012 it dropped to 2.9 days. Many factors caused the travelers to possibly be saturated with Bali tourism sector.

Meanwhile, the Bali Govern-

ment Tourism Office noted the arrival of foreign tourists to Bali during the period of JanuaryFebruary 2014 was dominated

by Australian, reaching 133,973 people, followed by China (109,003), Malaysia (33,560), Japan (30,691), South Korea (24,292), Singapore (22,309) and Taiwan (18,704). (kmb27)

Agricultural sector unable to compete in AEC 2015 Bali Post

AP Photo/Frank Eltman

In this Wednesday, March 26, 2014 photo, Tanisha Verdejo, a client at the Helen Keller National Center, demonstrates the use of a specially designed keyboard that helps blind clients access the Internet, in Sands Point, N.Y.

MANGUPURA - The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) poses the implementation of the ASEAN free trade policies (AFTA).

It aims to strengthen the ASEAN economic competitiveness in the global economic system. As one of the AEC members, Indonesia with a high natural potential actually has a great opportunity to benefit in the ASEAN trading system.

“In terms of competitiveness in the agriculture, in fact Indonesia is

not yet ready to take advantage of the AEC trade system. This condition will worsen our food security,” said Secretary of the Indonesia Farmers Union (HKTI) of Badung, I Ketut Sugiana.

Actually, Sugiana added the tariff reduction target reaching 0 percent in 2015 truly gave the export opportunity to the agricultural commodity of the ASEAN member countries which had a population of up to 500 million people. The problems faced by Indonesia in taking these opportunities, among

others, were the lack of farming capital, low level of production efficiency, production technology and less advanced processing. Thus, the opportunity for Indonesia to take advantage of the ASEAN trade including the agricultural commodities was very low.

“Even, it will be a threat for Indonesia and becomes importing country of the agricultural commodities. Thus, the AEA will be profitable for Indonesia when we are able to improve the competitiveness of the ASEAN member

countries. However, it will be very detrimental when Indonesia only serves as consumers and it is surely very disturbing the domestic food sovereignty,” he asserted while adding that in terms of competitiveness in the agricultural sector, Indonesia was actually not yet ready to take advantage.

Have the agribusiness and agroindustry been explored so as to promote the food security in Indonesia? “Indeed they have, but when speaking about competitiveness especially the non-specific commodi-

ties, of course Indonesia still loses out. For example, Indonesia is not the only rice producing country,” said the agricultural observer from Abiansemal, Badung.

Actually, if the agribusiness and agro-industry were well developed, they would be able to promote food security in Indonesia. In addition, by promoting the food security, the farmers’ welfare could also be increased. “With a low competitiveness, Indonesia will not become an exporting country but importing country,” he affirmed. (rah)

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Bali News

International

Facing AEC 2015

IT experts of Bali must be prepared earlier Bali Post

DENPASAR - Labor competition in Bali is getting tighter, especially after the enforcement of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015.

On that account, the professional workforce, including IT specialists, should be prepared from an early stage in order to be able to compete against foreign labor.

The particpants of computer study are seen in the picture

IBP/File

“The field of computer technology should also be able to compete when the AEC has been applied later on.

Moreover, now is the era of globalization and the prospect of IT staff is very large,” said the academician, I Gusti Made Murjana.

To deal with the AEC 2015, according to Murjana, the educational institutions should prepare and produce their students to become qualified and professional workforce, especially those that had special department like vocational high school (SMK) and others. Preparing the experts at early stage would be able to face the challenge and competition getting tougher.

“In the future, I hope there will be more and more professionals produced in Bali. So, we do not need for external labor. If possible, we can send our experts to foreign countries,” he said.

On that account, he called on the management of educational institution to give more priority to the quality of education. In addition, after having finished their education, none would be unemployed. Moreover, in the future, the IT personnel would be needed and the opportunity to be absorbed by industry would be very large.

“I want that our students can take part and their expertise can be reckoned by foreign businessmen. Aside from in the tourism sector alone, the IT personnel must also be able to compete,” said the Principal of the SMK TI Bali Global.

Therefore, his party was working hard to create a workforce having good skills. Moreover, many foreign workers came into Bali and if it would not be anticipated our local labor would be eliminated. “The opportunity to work in the technology world is huge. I ask the future generations not to squander this opportunity. Make preparation with skills in order to able to compete,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to tourism academician, Dr. I Ketut Putra Suarthana, Bali was ready to face the AEC in terms of manpower, personnel, and it had been anticipated by competency certification. “With the certification of competencies, the labor has a special certificate in their own field. Overseas workers who come to Bali must also have a certificate of competency,” he added.

In addition, according to Putra, the cultural tourism in Bali remained to become a leading sector. Most travelers coming to Bali wanted to get to know and enjoy the culture of this Island of the Gods. “We expect the labor owned by Bali to still give priority on services. We compete in the matter of service, not the matter of price. Therefore, the service must be the best. Meanwhile, from the beginning we have instilled to the output in order they firstly master the English language, provide satisfactory services to guests and has the knowledge on hospitality and ethics,” said Putra. (rah)

International

W

RLD

GIANYAR - The existence public rural-urban transportation in Gianyar is increasingly abandoned and increasingly rarer.

This happens due to the increasing number of motor vehicle ownership in the community. Even, the school children who are still minors have now been using motorcycle to go to school.

It was recognized by Chairman

of the Gianyar Land Transportation Organization (Organda), Wayan Balik Ari Semadi, in response to the disappearance of the rural transportation within the past few years. Of the hundreds of transportation vehicles in Gianyar, currently only survived 40 vehicles. Even, they mostly no longer operated because the driver should often pay the operational cost as lacking of passengers.

Passenger priority for the public

transport all this time was school children. Rapid development and in harmony with the motorcycle ownership by the community had made public transport abandoned.

“Nevertheless, there were still some public transportation that operated in several areas such as in the area of Ubud, Tampaksiring and Payangan,” he said.

He added that public transportation in urban areas also suffered a similar fate. They mostly operated

during the time when students went and left schools. This condition was seen in Blahbatuh, he explained.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, bad sights were seen in recent years in a number of areas within the jurisdiction of Gianyar Police.

Many school students who were still minors had ridden a motorcycle when going to school. Even, this condition could not be used to definitively conclude that it

happened because of the scarcity of public transport. Or otherwise many students under age rode motorcycle had caused the public transport to lack of passengers.

“Currently, along with Gianyar Police and Transportation Agency and Informatics and Communication Agency are looking for a solution to these two problems.

Later on, there is possibility to make cooperation with schools,” he explained. (kmb16)

13

Ukraine feels nervous as big powers debate fate Associated Press Writer

KIEV, Ukraine — As top diplomats from Russia and the United States have met in Europe’s capitals to decide Ukraine’s fate in recent weeks, there’s been a conspicuous absence: a representative from Ukraine. Russia has refused to deal with Ukraine’s new government since protests in February ousted the pro-Russian president. And while the West supports the fledgling leadership, it has left an impression that it’s in charge of talks with the Kremlin.

Time and again through history, Ukraine has been caught in big power politics. Historians draw parallels between how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin divided Europe at Yalta after World War II — trapping eastern European countries in the Soviet orbit. Now some Ukrainians fear history is repeating itself as they are shut out of negotiations — and sit on the sidelines waiting for a verdict. Ordinary Ukrainians are mostly grateful for Western efforts to mediate the crisis and more than anything are terrified by the prospect of war. But officials have sought to stress that Ukraine’s voice must be heard.

At a news conference last week, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky insisted that decisions regarding Ukraine’s future must not be made without Kiev’s input: “No real dialogue is possible without Ukraine,” Lubkivsky said.

That is why the announcement this week of high-level talks between the United States, the EU, Ukraine

and Russia — expected to take place in the next 10 days — was met with hope in Kiev.

Despite angry rhetoric, the West has largely accepted the reality of Russia’s takeover of Crimea. Diplomatic efforts are now focused on preventing Russia’s military incursion into the Russian-speaking east and south of Ukraine, where Moscow claims it needs to protect Russian-speakers. With thousands of Russian troops amassed near the border with Ukraine, Moscow seeks to dictate conditions: It wants to turn Ukraine into a loose federation that it can control, and is pushing for Russian to become the second official state language, on par with Ukrainian.

Kiev has so far refused to cave to Moscow’s demands — as any step that dents Ukraine’s hopes of integrating with the West will be met with fierce resistance from the Maidan, the pro-Western protest movement. More than 100 people were killed in the protesters’ clashes

with police.But facing enormous military and economic pressure from Russia, there is little Ukraine can do on its own, some experts say — so Kiev has to rely on Western patronage.

“During the Cold War, U.S. secretaries of state and Soviet foreign ministers routinely negotiated the outcome of crises and the fate of countries. It has been a long time since such talks have occurred, but last week a feeling of deja vu overcame me,” George Freedman of Stratfor, a U.S. global intelligence think tank, wrote recently.

A Christmas tree construction, which has remained untouched from the Christmas holidays because of recent violence, is decorated with the anti-war posters and a Hitler-like portrait of Putin in Kiev’s Independent square, Ukraine, Saturday, April 5, 2014.

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Hagel, Chang air differences over disputed islands Associated Press Writer

Public transport abandoned and increasingly rarer Bali Post

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

AP Photo/Alex Wong, Pool

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan shake hands at the end of a joint news conference at the Chinese Defense Ministry headquarters in Beijing, China Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

BEIJING — The defense chiefs of China and the U.S. are facing off over Beijing’s escalating territorial disputes in the region, with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel telling China it doesn’t have the right to unilaterally establish an air defense zone over disputed islands with no consultation.

And he said on Tuesday America will protect Japan in a dispute with China, as laid out in U.S. treaty obligations.

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said his country will not take the initiative to stir up troubles with Japan, but Beijing is ready to use its military if needed to safeguard its territory. And he warned that the U.S. must “stay vigilant” against Japan’s actions and “not be permissive and supportive” of Tokyo.

The U.S. has criticized Beijing’s recent declaration of an air defense zone over a large swath of the East China Sea, including disputed islands controlled

by Japan.

In their remarks, the two men aired their countries’ well-known positions about the territorial disputes, although

doing it for the first time in China, shoulder to shoulder after nearly two hours of meetings here.

“Every nation has a right to establish an air defense zone, but not a right to do it unilaterally with no collaboration, no consultation. That adds to tensions, misunderstandings, and could eventually add to, and eventually get to dangerous conflict,” said Hagel, poking his figure toward the television cameras and photographers at the back of the room, as shutters clicked.

For his part, Chang said China stands ready to resolve the disputes diplomatically. But he made it clear that China is always ready to respond to threats.

On the issue of territorial sovereignty, Chang said, “we will make no compromise, no concession, no trading, not even a tiny ... violation is allowed.”

On a broader scale, the meeting focused on how the U.S. and China can build stronger ties, in the wake of years of frosty relations over Beijing’s military buildup, persistent cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies and private industry, and aggressive Chinese territorial claims in the East China Sea.

12

International

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

BUSINESS

BOJ refrains from further easing monetary policy Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s central bank has refrained from expanding its ultra-loose monetary policy despite a sales tax hike, saying the economy is recovering moderately.

The Bank of Japan’s policy statement Tuesday was the first since an April 1 increase in the sales tax, to 8 percent from 5 percent, that is expected to stall economic growth in coming months as consumers adjust to higher costs.

The BOJ said inflation is likely to remain at about 1.25 percent for some time, below its target of 2 percent.

“Business sentiment has continued to improve, although some

Associated Press

SEOUL — Declining smartphone prices hit profit at Samsung Electronics Co. for a second straight quarter. The consumer technology heavyweight said Tuesday that it expects operating income of about 8.4 trillion won ($8 billion) for the January-March quarter, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Sales were flat at 53 trillion won. Samsung, the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips, will release full quarterly results later this month.

The operating profit was in line with the median estimate by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Compared with the previous quarter, sales sank 11 percent while operating income inched up 1 percent.

The year-on-year profit decline shows the challenge for Samsung to maintain earnings growth as smartphone prices fall. The devices are its biggest cash cow, accounting for more than two-third of its income.

The average price of a Samsung smartphone this year will likely be $275, down 9 percent from 2013, according to Chung Chang-won, an analyst at Nomura Financial Investment.

That is because smartphone sales growth is slowing in North America, Europe, South Korea and Japan while consumers in developing nations tend to buy cheaper

cautiousness about the outlook has been observed,” it said. There has been an uptick in corporate investment, the bank said.

Japanese policymakers are counting on expectations of higher prices in the future to drive consumer spending and eventually prompt companies to invest more and create more jobs. The central bank’s assessment of current economic trends is calibrated to support that

approach.

The bank’s decision to stand pat was expected.

“While the economy will surely contract in the second quarter, this needs to be seen in light of a likely surge in output in the first quarter and a likely rebound in the third quarter,” Capital Economics said in a commentary Tuesday.

“What’s more, there is already substantial monetary easing in the

pipeline until year-end.”

Strong public investment and a housing boom have helped support growth since BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda announced, a year ago, unprecedentedly huge asset purchases to spur inflation and help Japan’s economy recover from two decades of doldrums.

Kuroda has said the policies will remain for as long as needed.

Meanwhile, Japan’s current account returned to surplus in February for the first time in five months, the Finance Ministry reported.

It said higher income from

overseas securities investments, due to the weaker yen, offset the trade deficit, although the surplus in the current account, which also includes trade, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 612.7 billion yen ($5.9 billion).

Japan has ramped up imports of oil and gas to compensate for the loss of its nuclear power capacity following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. A weakening in the yen’s value in the past 18 months has inflated the cost of its imports, while exports have not kept pace.

Samsung’s profit falls

Visitors try out Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Note 3 at its showroom in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

Declining smartphone prices hit profit at Samsung for a second straight quarter.

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

handsets.

Chinese handset makers are also vying for customers in emerging markets. Samsung faces competition from a slew of handset makers in regions such as Southeast Asia where Lenovo and Xiaomi are expanding.

“In 2014, I expect that even more Chinese vendors will come in and they will put in greater investment in such emerging markets and they will pose a

bigger threat” to Samsung, said Ryan Lai, an analyst at research firm IDC. Latest data shows Samsung is fending off the threat at least in China. The maker of Galaxy smartphones sold a record number of smartphones in the world’s most populous country in February, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Apple Inc. tied Lenovo for second even after the launch of the iPhone

through China Mobile helped the company boost sales.

Declining prices of smartphones also put pressure on profit margins for components that go into mobile devices, such as memory chips and display panels, two other key products made by Samsung.

Samsung is attempting to cut costs in response to its business challenges. Earlier this year, a mobile business executive said the company will reduce the propor-

tion of ads and promotional fees to revenues. Samsung spent over $11 billion on advertising and promotions for handsets, televisions and other products last year.

Most analysts expected Samsung’s bottom line to improve from the current quarter as the latest version of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, goes on sale worldwide from Friday. It selling the phone for slightly less than the previous version.

Beach clean up at Kuta Beach

Bali News

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

5

IBP

KUTA - A continues act to clean Kuta Beach from debris held after Nyepi celebration on April 5th. Eventhough, in the morning, rain poured at Kuta Beach, it was only just minutes before the event begin.

Around 125 people from Quiksilver, Harris Hotel, the ROLE Foundation, Hard Rock Hotel, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia, Surfer Girl and other members of the community, took part in the beach clean up act.

The crew collected an impressive 320 kgs of rubbish from the beach strip which stretched from

the Hard Rock Hotel to past Padma Beach in Legian, leaving a pristine sandy playground for the weekend beachgoers to enjoy.

The next and final Beach Clean Up effort will be on April the 19th, as Bali’s rainy season will be essentially over and there will be relatively rubbish free beaches to welcome the Easter weekend.

IBP/Courtesy of Gino Andrias

A mother holding empty plastic bag while her son put garbage at Kuta Beach during the Beach Clean Up act that held on Saturday, April 5th.

Tirta Empul Ulu Temple at Gilimanuk IBP

NEGARA - The Tirta Empul Ulu Temple is located within the area of West Bali National Park (TNBB), right on the roadside of DenpasarGilimanuk. Located on the Penginuman Beach, it is a strategic place where the tip of Java Island is visible. The temple whose pujawali or anniversary falls on full moon of the fifth month in Balinese calendar (around October) still looks quite beautiful and exudes serene atmosphere as sits under big trees.

Every day, many hordes of tame monkeys can still be encountered around the temple.

The temple spreading across an area of around one hectare, many devotees come and say the temple spreading across an area of around one hectare, many devotees come and say prayers not just for invoking safety and health. They also perform purificatory rite or melukat in three freshwater springs located on the West of the temple. According to a temple attendant, Nengah Kembar Winada, the temple was built around 1990.

One of the priests discovering the temple, Mangku Gede Linggih, got divine inspiration and found the existence of a well or spring on beach. Despite the spring located in the sea sand, the water emanating does not taste salty but fresh.

Based on the inspiration, it was then established a simple shrine (using tree branches) at several locations.

Until now, the temple had complete buildings funded by the donations from devotees who did purificatory rite and had a vow.

He said the temple priest Mangku Gede Linggih who found the temple site has passed away. As the successor, he was replaced by his wife Jro Mangku Lingsir Mangku Sumpang living in Gilimanuk.

Meanwhile, Winada added that

every full moon, there were always devotees coming from all over Bali and even from Java. They all came to do purificatory rite directly on the beach. But at high tides, the temple attendant had taken holy water for purificatory rite from the three springs and kept it in the temple area.

Having performed the purificatory rite, devotees entered into the three

temple areas. Devotees said prayers at the shrine located in the innermost courtyard. Here lay a number of three-tiered meru shrines as well as the shrine respectively dedicated for the veneration of the Lord Kasiap, Balian and Lord Lumajang.

In the meantime, on the west area outside the main building and few meters from the three springs sat a shrine. It was used to venerate

Goddess Ayu Giri Putri Dapdapsari.

Then, on the north side could be found a shrine located rather far away with a complete building.

Here, according to Winada, was venerated the Goddess Ayu Mas Melanting.

During the visit, a number of devotees, mostly from outside Jembrana, came to say prayers. They delivered various invocations, some

of which related to recovery from illness, while some others asked for a job opportunity. The three springs used for purificatory rite were arranged by means of concrete manholes at three sites which were adjacent to one other. It was the holy water used for the purificatory rites.

“The water of each well tastes different, namely bitter and plain but not salty,” he explained. (kmb)

IBP/File Photo

The Tirta Empul Ulu Temple is located within the area of West Bali National Park (TNBB), right on the roadside of Denpasar-Gilimanuk.

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

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RLD

International

Canadian convicted of murder seen through webcam Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Australia Defense Force, LSIS Bradley Darvill

In this April 7, 2014 photo provided by the Australian Defense Force a fast response craft manned by members from the Australian Defense’s ship Ocean Shield is deployed to scan the water for debris of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Ship hunts for more ‘pings’ in Malaysia jet search Associated Press Writer

PERTH, Australia — Search crews have failed to relocate faint sounds heard deep in the Indian Ocean, possibly from the missing Malaysian jetliner’s black boxes whose batteries are at the end of their life.

Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal who is heading the search far off western Australia, said listening equipment on the Ocean Shield has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday. The signals had sparked hopes of a breakthrough in the search for Flight 370.

Finding the black boxes quickly is critical, because their locator beacons have a battery life of only about a month — and Tuesday marks exactly one month since the plane vanished.

Once the beacons blink off, locating the black boxes in such deep water would be an immensely difficult, if not impossible, task. “There have been no further contacts with any transmission and we need to continue (searching) for several days right up to the point at which there’s absolutely no doubt that the batteries will

have expired,” Houston said.

If, by that point, the U.S. Navy listening equipment being towed behind the Ocean Shield has failed to pick up any signals, a submarine will be deployed to try to chart out any debris on the seafloor. If the sub maps out a debris field, the crew will replace its sonar system with a camera unit to photograph any wreckage.

Earlier, Australia’s acting prime minister, Warren Truss, had said the Bluefin 21 autonomous sub would be launched on Tuesday, but a spokesman for Truss said later the conflicting information was a misunderstanding, and Truss acknowledged the sub was not being used immediately. The two distinct sounds heard late Saturday and early Sunday are consistent with the pings from an aircraft’s black boxes, Houston said.

Defense Minister David Johnston

called it the most positive lead and said it was being pursued vigorously. Still, officials warned it could take days to determine whether the sounds were connected to the plane that vanished March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing with 239 on board.

“This is an herculean task — it’s over a very, very wide area, the water is extremely deep,” Johnston said. “We have at least several days of intense action ahead of us.”

Houston said finding the sound again was critical to narrowing the search area before the sub can be used. If the vehicle went down now with the sparse data collected so far, it would take “many, many days” for it to cover all the places the pings might have come from. “It’s literally crawling at the bottom of the ocean so it’s going to take a long, long time,” Houston said.

TORONTO — A man accused of attacking a Chinese student in her Toronto apartment as her ex-boyfriend watched via webcam from China was convicted Monday of first-degree murder. The jury deliberated for four hours before delivering its verdict against Brian Dickson, 32.

Justice Anne Molloy imposed a life sentence with a chance of parole after 25 years.

Liu Qian, 23, was found dead in April 2011, a few hours after her former boyfriend in China watched via webcam as she tried to fend off an attacker who appeared at her door. The boyfriend told police he saw Liu struggling with a man before her computer was shut off. Liu’s parents traveled from China for the trial. The father wiped away tears as the verdict was read.

“We are still very sad,” Liu Jianhui said after hearing the verdict through a translator. His wife clutched a picture of their daughter and cried silently. Dickson had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution rejected the lesser charge.

Dickson lived in an apartment in the same building as Liu, who had moved to Canada from China to study English. Her boyfriend, Meng Xian, testified that Dickson forced his way inside the apartment while Liu was pushing at his chest and saying “no.” Meng said Dickson pushed Liu down off camera and after the sound of two muffled bangs, he heard no more sounds from Liu. After a period of silence, Meng said he heard Dickson breathing heavily, and moments later he appeared naked in front of the webcam and turned off the computer.

The jury saw video and photographs of Liu’s body, lying face down next to her bed, with her nightgown and sweater pulled up to her shoulders. Blood could be seen on the floor around her face. The prosecutor said semen found on Liu’s abdomen and groin area matched DNA evidence collected from Dickson.

General election...

From page 1 Not violating rules Meanwhile, one day before election, Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) stated that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not violate campaign rules in using state facilities during campaigning for the ruling Democratic Party.

“Based on a number of our examinations, we did not find enough evidence to confirm the allegation that the use of state facilities by Yudhoyono was a violation,” Bawaslu member Nelson Simanjuntak explained.

As the General Chairman of the Democratic Party, Yudhoyono was not proven to have violated the elections rules, both in terms of administrative and criminal violations, in the use of state facilities during the 2014 general elections campaign in Lampung and in Palembang (South Sumatra).

The legal team of Bawaslu had earlier visited State Secretariat and the Central Executive Board of the Democratic Party to study the regulations on state facilities for the president.

The Bawaslu also involved the National Police and the Prosecutor’s Office, which were grouped in the Integrated Law Enforcement Center in carrying out the studies.

Earlier, Bawaslu had received reports from a number of non-governmental organizations, election monitoring and supervisory organizations on the use of state facilities by Yudhoyono.

According to Bawaslu, the State Secretariat has explained about the state facilities, which were inherent with Yudhoyono in his capacity as the president based on Law No.7/1978 on the President’s and Vice President’s Administrative and Financial Rights, and on the Government Regulation No. 59/2013 on the Pacification of the President and the Vice President and their family members as well as state guests of state head level.

“According to the State Secretariat, before holding a campaign, Yudhoyono had asked that the management should be separated between things which are related to pacification, protocol and health rights as well as things which are of personal interest in the campaign so that there would be no misuse of state money,” Nelson explained. (kmb18/ant)

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

INDONESIA 23 detainees to cast votes at KPK building

Antara

JAKARTA - A total of 23 detainees will cast their votes at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building here on Wednesday, KPK spokesman Johan Budi stated on Tuesday.

“Ten of the detainees will come from the Guntur detention post and 13 from the KPK detention post. Special poll stations called TPS 21 will be made available in front of the detention posts in Karet, Setiabudi sub-district, South Jakarta,” Budi noted.

The 23 detainees include former Democrat Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, former youths and sports minister Andi Alifian Mallarangeng, former president of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, former Bank Indonesia deputy governor Budi Mulya, and former chief of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) Rudi Rubiandini, he explained.

Budi pointed out that the KPK had always given detainees a chance to exercise their rights to vote.

“The KPK has always facilitated

detainees to exercise their rights to vote, including during the Jakarta gubernatorial election some time ago,” he reiterated.

He added that KPK detainee Izederik Emir Moeis of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) who is being treated at the Harapan Kita Hospital in West Jakarta will cast his vote at the hospital.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah who is held custody at the Pondok Bambu detention post and former secretary general of the Foreign Ministry Sudjanan Parnohadiningrat who is held custody at the Cipinang detention center will cast their votes at the detention centers respectively, he pointed out.

On April 3, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree declaring the poll day a public holiday

Agence France-Presse

years and pictures of MPs asleep in session regularly splashed across the press.

Political observers say celebrities are filling a void left by more serious contenders who are disillusioned with the system.

“Activists from civil society with the capacity to lead are not interested in taking part in the elections,” said Syamsuddin Haris, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

The growing celebrity trend at this year’s parliamentary election has been the so-called “caleg cantik” -- literally “the beautiful legislative candidate”.

A former Miss Indonesia beauty pageant finalist, Soraya Hapsari, swimsuit model Destiara Talita, and dangdut singer Camel Petir are all hoping their high profile and good looks can propel them to office.

Despite concerns over the celebrity trend, there is little doubt that a figure well-loved by the public can boost a party’s popularity.

At Irama’s recent outdoor gig, the hundreds of fans attending seemed overwhelmed as the man known as the king of “dangdut”, a popular type of Indonesian music, sang “the rich get richer, the poor

to allow voters to cast their votes in the legislative election.

The decree is based on decision of the General Elections Commission (KPU) on the date of poll to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representative Council (DPD) and the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD), and article 4 sub-article (3) of Law No. 8/2012, the Cabinet Secretariat said on its official website on Sunday.

Earlier, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, in his circular, signed on March 26 also declared the poll day as a holiday for employees/workers.

“By doing so, we hope that employees/workers can channelize their political aspirations in the five-yearly fiesta of democracy,” he explained.

11

‘Tortured’ maid returns to Hong Kong Agence France-Presse

HONG KONG - An Indonesian maid allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer returned to the city on Monday for a medical examination to help the investigation of a case which sparked angry protests.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, was whisked through the airport surrounded by a dozen police officers, as several activists shouted “Justice for Erwiana!”

The Indonesian consulate said she would undergo a full medical examination during her visit lasting about a week and stay in accommodation provided by Indonesian authorities.

“We will provide full assistance to Erwiana. It is the duty of the consulate of her own country,” said Sam Aryadi, vice consul for public affairs.

Sulistyaningsih was reportedly abused over a period of eight months while working in Hong Kong and was in critical condition on her return to Indo-

nesia in January.

One of her doctors there said at the time the mistreatment included having her head smashed repeatedly against a wall.

The case sparked renewed concern, including from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, about the treatment of domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Thousands of them took to the streets in January to demand justice for Sulistyaningsih.

Her former employer, 44-yearold Law Wan-tung, has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Sulistyaningsih.

Law was also charged with common assault and four counts of criminal intimidation -- charges related either to Sulistyaningsih or to her two previous Indonesian domestic helpers.

The Asian financial hub is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

Indonesia’s ‘Elvis’ leads celebrity charge at polls

JAKARTA - A white jumpsuit stretched over his bulging belly, an ageing crooner known as Indonesia’s Elvis launches into song ahead of elections Wednesday, one of a parade of celebrities standing as candidates or acting as cheerleaders.

Rhoma Irama, who was seeking support for his own presidential bid and the Islamic party backing him, is part of a star-studded push for votes in the legislative polls, which set the stage for the presidential elections in July.

The tactic seems to be working among some supporters -- “Bro Rhoma I love you, bro Rhoma for Indonesian president,” screamed one woman wearing a purple Muslim headscarf at his Jakarta concert as she danced vigorously.

But while the presence of celebrities adds colour to the elections, analysts say the trend highlights the woeful state of political life in Indonesia 16 years after dictator Suharto left power.

Parliament is regarded as one of the country’s most corrupt institutions, with several lawmakers having been jailed for graft in recent

AP Photo/Heri Juanda

get poorer”.

While the presidency is likely out of the devout Muslim star’s reach, polls indicate the party backing him, the Islamic-based National Awakening Party (PKB), will increase its share of the vote to seven or eight percent.

While some celebrities will make it into parliament, Irama is

unlikely even to be able to run at the presidential polls, observers say, as his party won’t win the required support at the legislative elections to put forward a candidate.

Nevertheless, the colourful singer who has been widely mocked for seeking the presidency, in particular for a campaign poster which depicts him wearing a turban while riding a

Armed police officers stand guard as election officials carry ballot boxes to be distributed to polling stations at a local government office in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

Indonesia, the world’s thirdlargest democracy, is set to hold its legislative election on Wednesday, April 9.

white horse -- insists he can win.

“People underestimate me because they don’t know who Rhoma really is,” he told AFP during a recent interview at his Jakarta house.

“They think I know nothing about politics... but my songs all these 40 years contain political messages about corruption, human rights.”

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Destination

Sports

International

International

Soka Beach IBP

TABANAN - Soka Beach is located 40 km from Denpasar or 25 km west of the city of Tabanan, right on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section. Soka Beach has beautiful scenery and is great for a place to rest or stop over. On this beach lies a large pot of rock and an old kitchen belongs to Kebo Iwa as mentioned in the popular local legend.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

7

Struggling Pacers still looking for way to rebound Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson shook his head in disbelief. All-Star starter Paul George repeatedly urged his Indiana teammates to get going, and All-Star center Roy Hibbert sat speechless on the bench during the final 30 minutes on the game. This wasn’t just another bad loss for the Pacers. It was another chapter in their shocking collapse as the NBA regular season comes to a close.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable for any of us in our organization to play the way we played tonight and we’re just going to get back to work to fix it, to get back on track,” coach Frank Vogel said following Atlanta’s 10788 rout of the Pacers Sunday night in Indianapolis. The Pacers missed their first seven shots and scored a team-record-low 23 points in the first half when they went 7 of 35 from the field. The league’s No. 1 defense gave up 55 points and seven 3-pointers in two quarters.

This has been a problem since the All-Star break, with the Pacers allowing 95.8 points per game and putting up the lowest scoring average of any team in the NBA last month. The Pacers are 20-17 since Jan. 24 and 7-12 on the road. Even their once-invincible home-court

IBP/File Photo AP Photo/AJ Mast

edge doesn’t look so imposing after losing to San Antonio by 26 points and Atlanta by 19.

Are the Pacers in a free fall? They look listless at times, sure, but San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich noted that all teams go through these sorts of struggles during the season.

Spurs guard Tony Parker said he still expects Indiana and Miami to meet in the Eastern Conference finals.

But there’s no doubt this is not the same team that started 17-2, was 33-8 at the midway point of the season and made two February moves — signing free agent Andrew Bynum and sending injury-prone Danny Granger to Philadelphia in a trade deadline deal for Evan Turner — that made it clear the Pacers thought they could dethrone two-time defending NBA champion

In this Wednesday, March 26, 2014 photo, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel and other members of the team attend to Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) after he was struck in the face by an elbow from Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6), which was ruled a flagrant fou, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis.

Miami.

After losing for the fifth time in six games, the Pacers are now one game behind Miami in the Eastern Conference standings. Vogel benched Hibbert for the final 2½ quarters Sunday because he thought Hibbert looked fatigued. Vogel noted afterward that his entire starting lineup looked tired, though he played George and David West deep into the fourth quarter. Hibbert did not take questions after the game.

There has been speculation about a growing rift between the Pacers’ young coach and their star center, who has publicly complained about “selfish dudes” and suggested the Pacers needed “group therapy.”

Teammates deny there are any problems between the two.

“Roy will settle down,” West said when asked how Hibbert responded to the benching. “He’s down on himself because he felt like he could have helped us, but coach made a decision. Coach has to make some tough decisions sometimes, and it was to get him some rest. ... Coach made the right choice.”

US team among 2 new entrants set for F1 in 2015

Associated Press Writer

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says a U.S.-backed team led by NASCAR’s Gene Haas is among two new teams likely to join the series next season. Speaking at Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ecclestone said he held talks with the sport’s governing body and there was agreement about expansion next season.

“They will be accepted, and we’ve also accepted another team as well, although whether they’ll make it or not is another story,” Ecclestone said when asked about a possible Haas entry. The other 2015 bidder is believed to be an Eastern Europe-based entry backed

by Colin Kolles, who formerly was at defunct teams HRT, Midland and Spyker.

FIA President Jean Todt confirmed that applications were being

considered and said a decision will be announced “in coming days.”

Those applying will need approval from the governing body and the commercial rights holder, headed

by Ecclestone. At the NASCAR race in Fort Worth, Texas, Haas said he had not heard from Ecclestone or the governing body.

“We haven’t been notified by the FIA, but Bernie is kind of half Formula One, so I’m sure what he says goes,” Haas said. “I have no doubt that even if Mr. Ecclestone says he’s OK with it, there’s probably another few weeks of legal paperwork” before FIA would issue a license. The new entries may replace existing teams rather than add to the grid. Several F1 teams are struggling financially.

Haas is the founder of the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team based in North Carolina. He also operates one of the world’s most sophisticated wind tunnels for the testing

of car aerodynamics, which would aid any new F1 entry.

He’s the owner of Haas Automation, which is one of the largest machine tool builders in the world.

Haas said his company currently does $1 billion in annual sales, and he believes entering Formula One could help him double that number. “It’s not that we’re trying to individually sell machines. We’re trying to make people aware of Haas Automation as a company,” he said.

Fabiana Flosi partner of Bernie Ecclestone, left, president and CEO of Formula One Managmen walks at the paddock ahead of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, April 6, 2014.

AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

8

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Sp rt Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa, center, blocks Bayern’s Arjen Robben, right, during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Manchester United and Bayern Munich at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Bayern Munich has trouble against English clubs Associated Press Writer

MUNICH — Champions League title holder Bayern Munich has not won a match since lifting the Bundesliga title with seven games to spare. That run includes the 1-1 draw at Manchester United in the first quarterfinal leg and Bayern’s first Bundesliga defeat this season, a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.

Bayern is seeking its third consecutive semifinal appearance, while United has not been in the last four since 2011. Bayern will be without the suspended Bastian Schweinsteiger, after the midfielder got a late red card in the first match. Midfielder Javi Martinez is also suspended because of three bookings.

Also unavailable for the German side are injured midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri but defender Dante is in contention after being suspended for the first leg.

For United, left back Patrice Evra is pushing for a recall having been absent for the first leg through suspension while striker Wayne Rooney is fighting to be fit after missing Saturday’s 4-0 win at Newcastle in the Premier League with a badly bruised toe. Rooney was present at training on Tuesday and United will be desperate for him to return as fellow striker Robin van Persie is also sidelined with a knee injury. Bayern will be without the support of 700 fans, meaning that the stadium will have a capacity of 67,300.

UEFA ordered one of the sections in the ground to be closed after Bayern fans displayed anti-gay and political banners at the home match against Arsenal in the previous round.

Bayern has five titles in the top club competition. United three, one of them won memorably over Bayern.

In the 1999 final, United scored twice in injury time to snatch the title from the German side in a 2-1 win in Barcelona. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, while he was in charge at Barcelona, twice beat United in the final, in 2009 and 2011.

United has never won in Munich, with Bayern winning two and the other two ending in draws.

Bayern has struggled at home against English opposition, especially this season. It lost to Manchester City 3-2 in the group stage and that ended a competition-record 10-match winning streak in the Champions League.

Bayern also drew 1-1 with Arsenal at home in the round of 16, after winning 2-0 in London. Bayern also lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal in the previous season’s round of 16 but advanced to

the next round on aggregate.

They also lost the 2011 final at home to Chelsea on penalties.

The first leg may have finished all square but possession-wise, it was all Bayern. With United manager David Moyes content to sit back and rely on the counter-attack, the German visitors enjoyed 74 percent possession and dominated territory. Still, United had more shots on target than Bayern — 4 to 3 — and Moyes is likely to adopt the same tactics at the Allianz Arena in its bid to pull off either a high-scoring draw or a victory that will send his team through.

It will likely require another huge game from center-back partners Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, who produced one of their best performances of the season last week at Old Trafford.

“We can take a lot of confidence from the first leg against Bayern,” United winger Ashley Young said. “We have to make sure we take our chances and hopefully we can defend exactly as we did in the first leg.”

Work resumes in part of Brazil World Cup stadium Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO — Construction work can resume in part of the stadium where a worker died while installing temporary seats for the World Cup opener, Brazilian labor officials said Monday. Construction had been partially stopped at the Itaquerao stadium because of safety concerns following the worker’s death on March 29.

Officials from the Labor Ministry inspected the venue on Monday and said most of the necessary safety measures had been implemented where the seats were being installed. Not all the work could resume, however, because construction workers had yet to install protective nets in part of the site.

Brazilian World Cup organizers and FIFA said the delay should not keep the stadium from being finished in time for the Brazil-Croatia opener

on June 12.

Work at the Itaquerao stadium had already been delayed before the worker’s death, which was the third at the stadium and seventh overall in World Cup venues in Brazil. Two workers died at the stadium in late November when a crane hoisting a giant roofing structure collapsed.

FIFA expects the venue to be fully ready in mid-May, about a month before the inaugural match of the tournament.

About 20,000 temporary seats are being installed behind the goals to increase the stadium’s capacity to nearly 70,000. Officials have allowed construction to resume on the south side, where the worker died, but said more had to be done to improve the safety conditions on the north end. Authorities said work should be able to resume there by Friday, following a new inspection scheduled in the next few days.

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

9

Netherlands hoping to end World Cup winless streak Associated Press Writer

AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands will head to Brazil hoping — again — to shake off the tag of best team never to win a World Cup. But the runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010 seem to have a squad with less sparkle than any of those teams and could be reliant on a handful of veterans who are surely on their last World Cup legs.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal does not appear to have settled on a first-choice goalkeeper, while his midfield is in flux and missing its strongest performer through injury. The country’s top international scorer, Robin van Persie, is also under an injury cloud and has yet to deliver on any of football’s greatest stages.

Inspired by midfield playmaker Wesley Sneijder and backed up by an uncompromising defense, the Netherlands reached the 2010 final in Johannesburg only to lose to Spain 1-0 in extra time of an ugly final. The two teams get a chance to make amends for the disappointing final when they meet again on June 13 at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador for their first Group B match.

“It’s special that we start the World Cup against the opponent we faced in the final four years ago,” Van Persie said. “It’s beautiful that we immediately get the chance to put that (defeat) right.” After the mouthwatering opener against Spain — arguably the most-anticipated match of the first round — the Netherlands goes to Porto Alegre to face Australia and finishes group play against Chile in Sao Paulo.

The tournament is Van Gaal’s international swan song. He has already announced his retirement from the national team after the World Cup and will be replaced by another veteran, Guus Hiddink. Van Gaal succeeded Bert van Marwijk after the Dutch crashed out of the 2012 European Championship without winning a single point in group play. He immediately set about rebuilding the team and seeking to play more attractive attacking football.

It is a measure of the work Van Gaal has undertaken that he has handed international team debuts to 25 players — enough to form two complete teams and have a few reserves on the bench. But his main front line remains unchanged

Bilbao wins 2-1 at Levante to stay 4th in Spain

from the last World Cup. Van Persie will spearhead the attack, if he has fully recovered from a sprained left knee he picked up after scoring a hat trick in Manchester United’s 3-0 Champions League win over Olympiakos in March.

If fit, Van Persie will be hoping to finally show off his scoring prowess at a major tournament. He scored only one goal at the 2010 World Cup and matched that tally two years later at Euro 2012. He will be supported by the pace of Arjen Robben, who has his own World Cup demons to bury after squandering a golden chance to score in regulation time in the 2010 World Cup final.

In one of the most serious injury losses for Van Gaal, Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman will definitely not be fit for Brazil after having reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair injuries to his anterior cruciate ligament and medial and lateral meniscus.

Van Gaal called the powerful midfield dynamo’s absence, a “blood-letting” for his squad. It may well leave the 1988 European champions too anemic to finally win the World Cup.

AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File

FILE - In this March 22, 2013, file photo, Robin van Persie of The Netherlands scores 2-0 during the Group D world cup qualifying soccer match Netherlands against Estonia in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Tottenham beats Sunderland 5-1 in Premier League Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Writer

VALENCIA, Spain — Striker Aritz Aduriz scored two goals to help Athletic Bilbao win 2-1 at Levante on Monday, strengthening the Basque side’s hold on fourth place in the Spanish league.

Bilbao’s second victory in its last six games restored its six-point advantage over fifth-place Sevilla as it clings to the last Champions League berth.

“Today was a very important game because all the rest of the way the games will be like this,” said Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde. “Sevilla, Real (Sociedad), are coming on strong. It will be tough from here on in.”

Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose missed a chance to grab the lead in the 12th minute when he misfired a penalty after Juanfran Garcia fouled Iker Muniain.

But Aduriz struck three minutes later when his shot took a deflection off a defender to catch goalkeeper Keylor Navas out of position.

Bilbao continued to dominate both possession and scoring chances, and Aduriz hit again by heading home Ander Herrera’s well-placed cross just before halftime.

Aduriz’s double gave him a team-leading 13 goals in the league this season.

AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane stadium in London, Monday, April 7, 2014.

LONDON — Christian Eriksen scored one goal and set up two more as Tottenham recovered from an early defensive howler to rout Sunderland 5-1, leaving the visitors rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Tottenham put aside speculation about the manager Tim Sherwood’s future and the early mistake to produce a comfortable victory at White Hart Lane to stay in the hunt for a European place.

Tottenham gifted Sunderland the opener as Vlad Chiriches collected a poor return ball from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and played a terrible square ball straight into the path of Lee Cattermole, who slotted home his first Sunderland goal.

The hosts equalized when Emmanuel Adebayor bundled home Eriksen’s cross and Harry Kane then prodded home his first Premier League goal to give Spurs a deserved lead.

Eriksen netted the third before Adebayor tucked home his second and substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson struck home in stoppage time.

8

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Sp rt Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa, center, blocks Bayern’s Arjen Robben, right, during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Manchester United and Bayern Munich at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Bayern Munich has trouble against English clubs Associated Press Writer

MUNICH — Champions League title holder Bayern Munich has not won a match since lifting the Bundesliga title with seven games to spare. That run includes the 1-1 draw at Manchester United in the first quarterfinal leg and Bayern’s first Bundesliga defeat this season, a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.

Bayern is seeking its third consecutive semifinal appearance, while United has not been in the last four since 2011. Bayern will be without the suspended Bastian Schweinsteiger, after the midfielder got a late red card in the first match. Midfielder Javi Martinez is also suspended because of three bookings.

Also unavailable for the German side are injured midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri but defender Dante is in contention after being suspended for the first leg.

For United, left back Patrice Evra is pushing for a recall having been absent for the first leg through suspension while striker Wayne Rooney is fighting to be fit after missing Saturday’s 4-0 win at Newcastle in the Premier League with a badly bruised toe. Rooney was present at training on Tuesday and United will be desperate for him to return as fellow striker Robin van Persie is also sidelined with a knee injury. Bayern will be without the support of 700 fans, meaning that the stadium will have a capacity of 67,300.

UEFA ordered one of the sections in the ground to be closed after Bayern fans displayed anti-gay and political banners at the home match against Arsenal in the previous round.

Bayern has five titles in the top club competition. United three, one of them won memorably over Bayern.

In the 1999 final, United scored twice in injury time to snatch the title from the German side in a 2-1 win in Barcelona. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, while he was in charge at Barcelona, twice beat United in the final, in 2009 and 2011.

United has never won in Munich, with Bayern winning two and the other two ending in draws.

Bayern has struggled at home against English opposition, especially this season. It lost to Manchester City 3-2 in the group stage and that ended a competition-record 10-match winning streak in the Champions League.

Bayern also drew 1-1 with Arsenal at home in the round of 16, after winning 2-0 in London. Bayern also lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal in the previous season’s round of 16 but advanced to

the next round on aggregate.

They also lost the 2011 final at home to Chelsea on penalties.

The first leg may have finished all square but possession-wise, it was all Bayern. With United manager David Moyes content to sit back and rely on the counter-attack, the German visitors enjoyed 74 percent possession and dominated territory. Still, United had more shots on target than Bayern — 4 to 3 — and Moyes is likely to adopt the same tactics at the Allianz Arena in its bid to pull off either a high-scoring draw or a victory that will send his team through.

It will likely require another huge game from center-back partners Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, who produced one of their best performances of the season last week at Old Trafford.

“We can take a lot of confidence from the first leg against Bayern,” United winger Ashley Young said. “We have to make sure we take our chances and hopefully we can defend exactly as we did in the first leg.”

Work resumes in part of Brazil World Cup stadium Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO — Construction work can resume in part of the stadium where a worker died while installing temporary seats for the World Cup opener, Brazilian labor officials said Monday. Construction had been partially stopped at the Itaquerao stadium because of safety concerns following the worker’s death on March 29.

Officials from the Labor Ministry inspected the venue on Monday and said most of the necessary safety measures had been implemented where the seats were being installed. Not all the work could resume, however, because construction workers had yet to install protective nets in part of the site.

Brazilian World Cup organizers and FIFA said the delay should not keep the stadium from being finished in time for the Brazil-Croatia opener

on June 12.

Work at the Itaquerao stadium had already been delayed before the worker’s death, which was the third at the stadium and seventh overall in World Cup venues in Brazil. Two workers died at the stadium in late November when a crane hoisting a giant roofing structure collapsed.

FIFA expects the venue to be fully ready in mid-May, about a month before the inaugural match of the tournament.

About 20,000 temporary seats are being installed behind the goals to increase the stadium’s capacity to nearly 70,000. Officials have allowed construction to resume on the south side, where the worker died, but said more had to be done to improve the safety conditions on the north end. Authorities said work should be able to resume there by Friday, following a new inspection scheduled in the next few days.

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

9

Netherlands hoping to end World Cup winless streak Associated Press Writer

AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands will head to Brazil hoping — again — to shake off the tag of best team never to win a World Cup. But the runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010 seem to have a squad with less sparkle than any of those teams and could be reliant on a handful of veterans who are surely on their last World Cup legs.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal does not appear to have settled on a first-choice goalkeeper, while his midfield is in flux and missing its strongest performer through injury. The country’s top international scorer, Robin van Persie, is also under an injury cloud and has yet to deliver on any of football’s greatest stages.

Inspired by midfield playmaker Wesley Sneijder and backed up by an uncompromising defense, the Netherlands reached the 2010 final in Johannesburg only to lose to Spain 1-0 in extra time of an ugly final. The two teams get a chance to make amends for the disappointing final when they meet again on June 13 at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador for their first Group B match.

“It’s special that we start the World Cup against the opponent we faced in the final four years ago,” Van Persie said. “It’s beautiful that we immediately get the chance to put that (defeat) right.” After the mouthwatering opener against Spain — arguably the most-anticipated match of the first round — the Netherlands goes to Porto Alegre to face Australia and finishes group play against Chile in Sao Paulo.

The tournament is Van Gaal’s international swan song. He has already announced his retirement from the national team after the World Cup and will be replaced by another veteran, Guus Hiddink. Van Gaal succeeded Bert van Marwijk after the Dutch crashed out of the 2012 European Championship without winning a single point in group play. He immediately set about rebuilding the team and seeking to play more attractive attacking football.

It is a measure of the work Van Gaal has undertaken that he has handed international team debuts to 25 players — enough to form two complete teams and have a few reserves on the bench. But his main front line remains unchanged

Bilbao wins 2-1 at Levante to stay 4th in Spain

from the last World Cup. Van Persie will spearhead the attack, if he has fully recovered from a sprained left knee he picked up after scoring a hat trick in Manchester United’s 3-0 Champions League win over Olympiakos in March.

If fit, Van Persie will be hoping to finally show off his scoring prowess at a major tournament. He scored only one goal at the 2010 World Cup and matched that tally two years later at Euro 2012. He will be supported by the pace of Arjen Robben, who has his own World Cup demons to bury after squandering a golden chance to score in regulation time in the 2010 World Cup final.

In one of the most serious injury losses for Van Gaal, Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman will definitely not be fit for Brazil after having reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair injuries to his anterior cruciate ligament and medial and lateral meniscus.

Van Gaal called the powerful midfield dynamo’s absence, a “blood-letting” for his squad. It may well leave the 1988 European champions too anemic to finally win the World Cup.

AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File

FILE - In this March 22, 2013, file photo, Robin van Persie of The Netherlands scores 2-0 during the Group D world cup qualifying soccer match Netherlands against Estonia in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Tottenham beats Sunderland 5-1 in Premier League Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Writer

VALENCIA, Spain — Striker Aritz Aduriz scored two goals to help Athletic Bilbao win 2-1 at Levante on Monday, strengthening the Basque side’s hold on fourth place in the Spanish league.

Bilbao’s second victory in its last six games restored its six-point advantage over fifth-place Sevilla as it clings to the last Champions League berth.

“Today was a very important game because all the rest of the way the games will be like this,” said Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde. “Sevilla, Real (Sociedad), are coming on strong. It will be tough from here on in.”

Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose missed a chance to grab the lead in the 12th minute when he misfired a penalty after Juanfran Garcia fouled Iker Muniain.

But Aduriz struck three minutes later when his shot took a deflection off a defender to catch goalkeeper Keylor Navas out of position.

Bilbao continued to dominate both possession and scoring chances, and Aduriz hit again by heading home Ander Herrera’s well-placed cross just before halftime.

Aduriz’s double gave him a team-leading 13 goals in the league this season.

AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane stadium in London, Monday, April 7, 2014.

LONDON — Christian Eriksen scored one goal and set up two more as Tottenham recovered from an early defensive howler to rout Sunderland 5-1, leaving the visitors rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Tottenham put aside speculation about the manager Tim Sherwood’s future and the early mistake to produce a comfortable victory at White Hart Lane to stay in the hunt for a European place.

Tottenham gifted Sunderland the opener as Vlad Chiriches collected a poor return ball from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and played a terrible square ball straight into the path of Lee Cattermole, who slotted home his first Sunderland goal.

The hosts equalized when Emmanuel Adebayor bundled home Eriksen’s cross and Harry Kane then prodded home his first Premier League goal to give Spurs a deserved lead.

Eriksen netted the third before Adebayor tucked home his second and substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson struck home in stoppage time.

10

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Destination

Sports

International

International

Soka Beach IBP

TABANAN - Soka Beach is located 40 km from Denpasar or 25 km west of the city of Tabanan, right on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section. Soka Beach has beautiful scenery and is great for a place to rest or stop over. On this beach lies a large pot of rock and an old kitchen belongs to Kebo Iwa as mentioned in the popular local legend.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

7

Struggling Pacers still looking for way to rebound Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson shook his head in disbelief. All-Star starter Paul George repeatedly urged his Indiana teammates to get going, and All-Star center Roy Hibbert sat speechless on the bench during the final 30 minutes on the game. This wasn’t just another bad loss for the Pacers. It was another chapter in their shocking collapse as the NBA regular season comes to a close.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable for any of us in our organization to play the way we played tonight and we’re just going to get back to work to fix it, to get back on track,” coach Frank Vogel said following Atlanta’s 10788 rout of the Pacers Sunday night in Indianapolis. The Pacers missed their first seven shots and scored a team-record-low 23 points in the first half when they went 7 of 35 from the field. The league’s No. 1 defense gave up 55 points and seven 3-pointers in two quarters.

This has been a problem since the All-Star break, with the Pacers allowing 95.8 points per game and putting up the lowest scoring average of any team in the NBA last month. The Pacers are 20-17 since Jan. 24 and 7-12 on the road. Even their once-invincible home-court

IBP/File Photo AP Photo/AJ Mast

edge doesn’t look so imposing after losing to San Antonio by 26 points and Atlanta by 19.

Are the Pacers in a free fall? They look listless at times, sure, but San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich noted that all teams go through these sorts of struggles during the season.

Spurs guard Tony Parker said he still expects Indiana and Miami to meet in the Eastern Conference finals.

But there’s no doubt this is not the same team that started 17-2, was 33-8 at the midway point of the season and made two February moves — signing free agent Andrew Bynum and sending injury-prone Danny Granger to Philadelphia in a trade deadline deal for Evan Turner — that made it clear the Pacers thought they could dethrone two-time defending NBA champion

In this Wednesday, March 26, 2014 photo, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel and other members of the team attend to Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) after he was struck in the face by an elbow from Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6), which was ruled a flagrant fou, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis.

Miami.

After losing for the fifth time in six games, the Pacers are now one game behind Miami in the Eastern Conference standings. Vogel benched Hibbert for the final 2½ quarters Sunday because he thought Hibbert looked fatigued. Vogel noted afterward that his entire starting lineup looked tired, though he played George and David West deep into the fourth quarter. Hibbert did not take questions after the game.

There has been speculation about a growing rift between the Pacers’ young coach and their star center, who has publicly complained about “selfish dudes” and suggested the Pacers needed “group therapy.”

Teammates deny there are any problems between the two.

“Roy will settle down,” West said when asked how Hibbert responded to the benching. “He’s down on himself because he felt like he could have helped us, but coach made a decision. Coach has to make some tough decisions sometimes, and it was to get him some rest. ... Coach made the right choice.”

US team among 2 new entrants set for F1 in 2015

Associated Press Writer

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says a U.S.-backed team led by NASCAR’s Gene Haas is among two new teams likely to join the series next season. Speaking at Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ecclestone said he held talks with the sport’s governing body and there was agreement about expansion next season.

“They will be accepted, and we’ve also accepted another team as well, although whether they’ll make it or not is another story,” Ecclestone said when asked about a possible Haas entry. The other 2015 bidder is believed to be an Eastern Europe-based entry backed

by Colin Kolles, who formerly was at defunct teams HRT, Midland and Spyker.

FIA President Jean Todt confirmed that applications were being

considered and said a decision will be announced “in coming days.”

Those applying will need approval from the governing body and the commercial rights holder, headed

by Ecclestone. At the NASCAR race in Fort Worth, Texas, Haas said he had not heard from Ecclestone or the governing body.

“We haven’t been notified by the FIA, but Bernie is kind of half Formula One, so I’m sure what he says goes,” Haas said. “I have no doubt that even if Mr. Ecclestone says he’s OK with it, there’s probably another few weeks of legal paperwork” before FIA would issue a license. The new entries may replace existing teams rather than add to the grid. Several F1 teams are struggling financially.

Haas is the founder of the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team based in North Carolina. He also operates one of the world’s most sophisticated wind tunnels for the testing

of car aerodynamics, which would aid any new F1 entry.

He’s the owner of Haas Automation, which is one of the largest machine tool builders in the world.

Haas said his company currently does $1 billion in annual sales, and he believes entering Formula One could help him double that number. “It’s not that we’re trying to individually sell machines. We’re trying to make people aware of Haas Automation as a company,” he said.

Fabiana Flosi partner of Bernie Ecclestone, left, president and CEO of Formula One Managmen walks at the paddock ahead of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, April 6, 2014.

AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

6

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

W

RLD

International

Canadian convicted of murder seen through webcam Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Australia Defense Force, LSIS Bradley Darvill

In this April 7, 2014 photo provided by the Australian Defense Force a fast response craft manned by members from the Australian Defense’s ship Ocean Shield is deployed to scan the water for debris of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Ship hunts for more ‘pings’ in Malaysia jet search Associated Press Writer

PERTH, Australia — Search crews have failed to relocate faint sounds heard deep in the Indian Ocean, possibly from the missing Malaysian jetliner’s black boxes whose batteries are at the end of their life.

Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal who is heading the search far off western Australia, said listening equipment on the Ocean Shield has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday. The signals had sparked hopes of a breakthrough in the search for Flight 370.

Finding the black boxes quickly is critical, because their locator beacons have a battery life of only about a month — and Tuesday marks exactly one month since the plane vanished.

Once the beacons blink off, locating the black boxes in such deep water would be an immensely difficult, if not impossible, task. “There have been no further contacts with any transmission and we need to continue (searching) for several days right up to the point at which there’s absolutely no doubt that the batteries will

have expired,” Houston said.

If, by that point, the U.S. Navy listening equipment being towed behind the Ocean Shield has failed to pick up any signals, a submarine will be deployed to try to chart out any debris on the seafloor. If the sub maps out a debris field, the crew will replace its sonar system with a camera unit to photograph any wreckage.

Earlier, Australia’s acting prime minister, Warren Truss, had said the Bluefin 21 autonomous sub would be launched on Tuesday, but a spokesman for Truss said later the conflicting information was a misunderstanding, and Truss acknowledged the sub was not being used immediately. The two distinct sounds heard late Saturday and early Sunday are consistent with the pings from an aircraft’s black boxes, Houston said.

Defense Minister David Johnston

called it the most positive lead and said it was being pursued vigorously. Still, officials warned it could take days to determine whether the sounds were connected to the plane that vanished March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing with 239 on board.

“This is an herculean task — it’s over a very, very wide area, the water is extremely deep,” Johnston said. “We have at least several days of intense action ahead of us.”

Houston said finding the sound again was critical to narrowing the search area before the sub can be used. If the vehicle went down now with the sparse data collected so far, it would take “many, many days” for it to cover all the places the pings might have come from. “It’s literally crawling at the bottom of the ocean so it’s going to take a long, long time,” Houston said.

TORONTO — A man accused of attacking a Chinese student in her Toronto apartment as her ex-boyfriend watched via webcam from China was convicted Monday of first-degree murder. The jury deliberated for four hours before delivering its verdict against Brian Dickson, 32.

Justice Anne Molloy imposed a life sentence with a chance of parole after 25 years.

Liu Qian, 23, was found dead in April 2011, a few hours after her former boyfriend in China watched via webcam as she tried to fend off an attacker who appeared at her door. The boyfriend told police he saw Liu struggling with a man before her computer was shut off. Liu’s parents traveled from China for the trial. The father wiped away tears as the verdict was read.

“We are still very sad,” Liu Jianhui said after hearing the verdict through a translator. His wife clutched a picture of their daughter and cried silently. Dickson had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution rejected the lesser charge.

Dickson lived in an apartment in the same building as Liu, who had moved to Canada from China to study English. Her boyfriend, Meng Xian, testified that Dickson forced his way inside the apartment while Liu was pushing at his chest and saying “no.” Meng said Dickson pushed Liu down off camera and after the sound of two muffled bangs, he heard no more sounds from Liu. After a period of silence, Meng said he heard Dickson breathing heavily, and moments later he appeared naked in front of the webcam and turned off the computer.

The jury saw video and photographs of Liu’s body, lying face down next to her bed, with her nightgown and sweater pulled up to her shoulders. Blood could be seen on the floor around her face. The prosecutor said semen found on Liu’s abdomen and groin area matched DNA evidence collected from Dickson.

General election...

From page 1 Not violating rules Meanwhile, one day before election, Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) stated that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not violate campaign rules in using state facilities during campaigning for the ruling Democratic Party.

“Based on a number of our examinations, we did not find enough evidence to confirm the allegation that the use of state facilities by Yudhoyono was a violation,” Bawaslu member Nelson Simanjuntak explained.

As the General Chairman of the Democratic Party, Yudhoyono was not proven to have violated the elections rules, both in terms of administrative and criminal violations, in the use of state facilities during the 2014 general elections campaign in Lampung and in Palembang (South Sumatra).

The legal team of Bawaslu had earlier visited State Secretariat and the Central Executive Board of the Democratic Party to study the regulations on state facilities for the president.

The Bawaslu also involved the National Police and the Prosecutor’s Office, which were grouped in the Integrated Law Enforcement Center in carrying out the studies.

Earlier, Bawaslu had received reports from a number of non-governmental organizations, election monitoring and supervisory organizations on the use of state facilities by Yudhoyono.

According to Bawaslu, the State Secretariat has explained about the state facilities, which were inherent with Yudhoyono in his capacity as the president based on Law No.7/1978 on the President’s and Vice President’s Administrative and Financial Rights, and on the Government Regulation No. 59/2013 on the Pacification of the President and the Vice President and their family members as well as state guests of state head level.

“According to the State Secretariat, before holding a campaign, Yudhoyono had asked that the management should be separated between things which are related to pacification, protocol and health rights as well as things which are of personal interest in the campaign so that there would be no misuse of state money,” Nelson explained. (kmb18/ant)

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

INDONESIA 23 detainees to cast votes at KPK building

Antara

JAKARTA - A total of 23 detainees will cast their votes at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building here on Wednesday, KPK spokesman Johan Budi stated on Tuesday.

“Ten of the detainees will come from the Guntur detention post and 13 from the KPK detention post. Special poll stations called TPS 21 will be made available in front of the detention posts in Karet, Setiabudi sub-district, South Jakarta,” Budi noted.

The 23 detainees include former Democrat Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, former youths and sports minister Andi Alifian Mallarangeng, former president of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, former Bank Indonesia deputy governor Budi Mulya, and former chief of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) Rudi Rubiandini, he explained.

Budi pointed out that the KPK had always given detainees a chance to exercise their rights to vote.

“The KPK has always facilitated

detainees to exercise their rights to vote, including during the Jakarta gubernatorial election some time ago,” he reiterated.

He added that KPK detainee Izederik Emir Moeis of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) who is being treated at the Harapan Kita Hospital in West Jakarta will cast his vote at the hospital.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah who is held custody at the Pondok Bambu detention post and former secretary general of the Foreign Ministry Sudjanan Parnohadiningrat who is held custody at the Cipinang detention center will cast their votes at the detention centers respectively, he pointed out.

On April 3, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree declaring the poll day a public holiday

Agence France-Presse

years and pictures of MPs asleep in session regularly splashed across the press.

Political observers say celebrities are filling a void left by more serious contenders who are disillusioned with the system.

“Activists from civil society with the capacity to lead are not interested in taking part in the elections,” said Syamsuddin Haris, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

The growing celebrity trend at this year’s parliamentary election has been the so-called “caleg cantik” -- literally “the beautiful legislative candidate”.

A former Miss Indonesia beauty pageant finalist, Soraya Hapsari, swimsuit model Destiara Talita, and dangdut singer Camel Petir are all hoping their high profile and good looks can propel them to office.

Despite concerns over the celebrity trend, there is little doubt that a figure well-loved by the public can boost a party’s popularity.

At Irama’s recent outdoor gig, the hundreds of fans attending seemed overwhelmed as the man known as the king of “dangdut”, a popular type of Indonesian music, sang “the rich get richer, the poor

to allow voters to cast their votes in the legislative election.

The decree is based on decision of the General Elections Commission (KPU) on the date of poll to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representative Council (DPD) and the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD), and article 4 sub-article (3) of Law No. 8/2012, the Cabinet Secretariat said on its official website on Sunday.

Earlier, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, in his circular, signed on March 26 also declared the poll day as a holiday for employees/workers.

“By doing so, we hope that employees/workers can channelize their political aspirations in the five-yearly fiesta of democracy,” he explained.

11

‘Tortured’ maid returns to Hong Kong Agence France-Presse

HONG KONG - An Indonesian maid allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer returned to the city on Monday for a medical examination to help the investigation of a case which sparked angry protests.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, was whisked through the airport surrounded by a dozen police officers, as several activists shouted “Justice for Erwiana!”

The Indonesian consulate said she would undergo a full medical examination during her visit lasting about a week and stay in accommodation provided by Indonesian authorities.

“We will provide full assistance to Erwiana. It is the duty of the consulate of her own country,” said Sam Aryadi, vice consul for public affairs.

Sulistyaningsih was reportedly abused over a period of eight months while working in Hong Kong and was in critical condition on her return to Indo-

nesia in January.

One of her doctors there said at the time the mistreatment included having her head smashed repeatedly against a wall.

The case sparked renewed concern, including from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, about the treatment of domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Thousands of them took to the streets in January to demand justice for Sulistyaningsih.

Her former employer, 44-yearold Law Wan-tung, has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Sulistyaningsih.

Law was also charged with common assault and four counts of criminal intimidation -- charges related either to Sulistyaningsih or to her two previous Indonesian domestic helpers.

The Asian financial hub is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

Indonesia’s ‘Elvis’ leads celebrity charge at polls

JAKARTA - A white jumpsuit stretched over his bulging belly, an ageing crooner known as Indonesia’s Elvis launches into song ahead of elections Wednesday, one of a parade of celebrities standing as candidates or acting as cheerleaders.

Rhoma Irama, who was seeking support for his own presidential bid and the Islamic party backing him, is part of a star-studded push for votes in the legislative polls, which set the stage for the presidential elections in July.

The tactic seems to be working among some supporters -- “Bro Rhoma I love you, bro Rhoma for Indonesian president,” screamed one woman wearing a purple Muslim headscarf at his Jakarta concert as she danced vigorously.

But while the presence of celebrities adds colour to the elections, analysts say the trend highlights the woeful state of political life in Indonesia 16 years after dictator Suharto left power.

Parliament is regarded as one of the country’s most corrupt institutions, with several lawmakers having been jailed for graft in recent

AP Photo/Heri Juanda

get poorer”.

While the presidency is likely out of the devout Muslim star’s reach, polls indicate the party backing him, the Islamic-based National Awakening Party (PKB), will increase its share of the vote to seven or eight percent.

While some celebrities will make it into parliament, Irama is

unlikely even to be able to run at the presidential polls, observers say, as his party won’t win the required support at the legislative elections to put forward a candidate.

Nevertheless, the colourful singer who has been widely mocked for seeking the presidency, in particular for a campaign poster which depicts him wearing a turban while riding a

Armed police officers stand guard as election officials carry ballot boxes to be distributed to polling stations at a local government office in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

Indonesia, the world’s thirdlargest democracy, is set to hold its legislative election on Wednesday, April 9.

white horse -- insists he can win.

“People underestimate me because they don’t know who Rhoma really is,” he told AFP during a recent interview at his Jakarta house.

“They think I know nothing about politics... but my songs all these 40 years contain political messages about corruption, human rights.”

12

International

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

BUSINESS

BOJ refrains from further easing monetary policy Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s central bank has refrained from expanding its ultra-loose monetary policy despite a sales tax hike, saying the economy is recovering moderately.

The Bank of Japan’s policy statement Tuesday was the first since an April 1 increase in the sales tax, to 8 percent from 5 percent, that is expected to stall economic growth in coming months as consumers adjust to higher costs.

The BOJ said inflation is likely to remain at about 1.25 percent for some time, below its target of 2 percent.

“Business sentiment has continued to improve, although some

Associated Press

SEOUL — Declining smartphone prices hit profit at Samsung Electronics Co. for a second straight quarter. The consumer technology heavyweight said Tuesday that it expects operating income of about 8.4 trillion won ($8 billion) for the January-March quarter, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Sales were flat at 53 trillion won. Samsung, the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips, will release full quarterly results later this month.

The operating profit was in line with the median estimate by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Compared with the previous quarter, sales sank 11 percent while operating income inched up 1 percent.

The year-on-year profit decline shows the challenge for Samsung to maintain earnings growth as smartphone prices fall. The devices are its biggest cash cow, accounting for more than two-third of its income.

The average price of a Samsung smartphone this year will likely be $275, down 9 percent from 2013, according to Chung Chang-won, an analyst at Nomura Financial Investment.

That is because smartphone sales growth is slowing in North America, Europe, South Korea and Japan while consumers in developing nations tend to buy cheaper

cautiousness about the outlook has been observed,” it said. There has been an uptick in corporate investment, the bank said.

Japanese policymakers are counting on expectations of higher prices in the future to drive consumer spending and eventually prompt companies to invest more and create more jobs. The central bank’s assessment of current economic trends is calibrated to support that

approach.

The bank’s decision to stand pat was expected.

“While the economy will surely contract in the second quarter, this needs to be seen in light of a likely surge in output in the first quarter and a likely rebound in the third quarter,” Capital Economics said in a commentary Tuesday.

“What’s more, there is already substantial monetary easing in the

pipeline until year-end.”

Strong public investment and a housing boom have helped support growth since BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda announced, a year ago, unprecedentedly huge asset purchases to spur inflation and help Japan’s economy recover from two decades of doldrums.

Kuroda has said the policies will remain for as long as needed.

Meanwhile, Japan’s current account returned to surplus in February for the first time in five months, the Finance Ministry reported.

It said higher income from

overseas securities investments, due to the weaker yen, offset the trade deficit, although the surplus in the current account, which also includes trade, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 612.7 billion yen ($5.9 billion).

Japan has ramped up imports of oil and gas to compensate for the loss of its nuclear power capacity following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. A weakening in the yen’s value in the past 18 months has inflated the cost of its imports, while exports have not kept pace.

Samsung’s profit falls

Visitors try out Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Note 3 at its showroom in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

Declining smartphone prices hit profit at Samsung for a second straight quarter.

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

handsets.

Chinese handset makers are also vying for customers in emerging markets. Samsung faces competition from a slew of handset makers in regions such as Southeast Asia where Lenovo and Xiaomi are expanding.

“In 2014, I expect that even more Chinese vendors will come in and they will put in greater investment in such emerging markets and they will pose a

bigger threat” to Samsung, said Ryan Lai, an analyst at research firm IDC. Latest data shows Samsung is fending off the threat at least in China. The maker of Galaxy smartphones sold a record number of smartphones in the world’s most populous country in February, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Apple Inc. tied Lenovo for second even after the launch of the iPhone

through China Mobile helped the company boost sales.

Declining prices of smartphones also put pressure on profit margins for components that go into mobile devices, such as memory chips and display panels, two other key products made by Samsung.

Samsung is attempting to cut costs in response to its business challenges. Earlier this year, a mobile business executive said the company will reduce the propor-

tion of ads and promotional fees to revenues. Samsung spent over $11 billion on advertising and promotions for handsets, televisions and other products last year.

Most analysts expected Samsung’s bottom line to improve from the current quarter as the latest version of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, goes on sale worldwide from Friday. It selling the phone for slightly less than the previous version.

Beach clean up at Kuta Beach

Bali News

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

5

IBP

KUTA - A continues act to clean Kuta Beach from debris held after Nyepi celebration on April 5th. Eventhough, in the morning, rain poured at Kuta Beach, it was only just minutes before the event begin.

Around 125 people from Quiksilver, Harris Hotel, the ROLE Foundation, Hard Rock Hotel, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia, Surfer Girl and other members of the community, took part in the beach clean up act.

The crew collected an impressive 320 kgs of rubbish from the beach strip which stretched from

the Hard Rock Hotel to past Padma Beach in Legian, leaving a pristine sandy playground for the weekend beachgoers to enjoy.

The next and final Beach Clean Up effort will be on April the 19th, as Bali’s rainy season will be essentially over and there will be relatively rubbish free beaches to welcome the Easter weekend.

IBP/Courtesy of Gino Andrias

A mother holding empty plastic bag while her son put garbage at Kuta Beach during the Beach Clean Up act that held on Saturday, April 5th.

Tirta Empul Ulu Temple at Gilimanuk IBP

NEGARA - The Tirta Empul Ulu Temple is located within the area of West Bali National Park (TNBB), right on the roadside of DenpasarGilimanuk. Located on the Penginuman Beach, it is a strategic place where the tip of Java Island is visible. The temple whose pujawali or anniversary falls on full moon of the fifth month in Balinese calendar (around October) still looks quite beautiful and exudes serene atmosphere as sits under big trees.

Every day, many hordes of tame monkeys can still be encountered around the temple.

The temple spreading across an area of around one hectare, many devotees come and say the temple spreading across an area of around one hectare, many devotees come and say prayers not just for invoking safety and health. They also perform purificatory rite or melukat in three freshwater springs located on the West of the temple. According to a temple attendant, Nengah Kembar Winada, the temple was built around 1990.

One of the priests discovering the temple, Mangku Gede Linggih, got divine inspiration and found the existence of a well or spring on beach. Despite the spring located in the sea sand, the water emanating does not taste salty but fresh.

Based on the inspiration, it was then established a simple shrine (using tree branches) at several locations.

Until now, the temple had complete buildings funded by the donations from devotees who did purificatory rite and had a vow.

He said the temple priest Mangku Gede Linggih who found the temple site has passed away. As the successor, he was replaced by his wife Jro Mangku Lingsir Mangku Sumpang living in Gilimanuk.

Meanwhile, Winada added that

every full moon, there were always devotees coming from all over Bali and even from Java. They all came to do purificatory rite directly on the beach. But at high tides, the temple attendant had taken holy water for purificatory rite from the three springs and kept it in the temple area.

Having performed the purificatory rite, devotees entered into the three

temple areas. Devotees said prayers at the shrine located in the innermost courtyard. Here lay a number of three-tiered meru shrines as well as the shrine respectively dedicated for the veneration of the Lord Kasiap, Balian and Lord Lumajang.

In the meantime, on the west area outside the main building and few meters from the three springs sat a shrine. It was used to venerate

Goddess Ayu Giri Putri Dapdapsari.

Then, on the north side could be found a shrine located rather far away with a complete building.

Here, according to Winada, was venerated the Goddess Ayu Mas Melanting.

During the visit, a number of devotees, mostly from outside Jembrana, came to say prayers. They delivered various invocations, some

of which related to recovery from illness, while some others asked for a job opportunity. The three springs used for purificatory rite were arranged by means of concrete manholes at three sites which were adjacent to one other. It was the holy water used for the purificatory rites.

“The water of each well tastes different, namely bitter and plain but not salty,” he explained. (kmb)

IBP/File Photo

The Tirta Empul Ulu Temple is located within the area of West Bali National Park (TNBB), right on the roadside of Denpasar-Gilimanuk.

4

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Bali News

International

Facing AEC 2015

IT experts of Bali must be prepared earlier Bali Post

DENPASAR - Labor competition in Bali is getting tighter, especially after the enforcement of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015.

On that account, the professional workforce, including IT specialists, should be prepared from an early stage in order to be able to compete against foreign labor.

The particpants of computer study are seen in the picture

IBP/File

“The field of computer technology should also be able to compete when the AEC has been applied later on.

Moreover, now is the era of globalization and the prospect of IT staff is very large,” said the academician, I Gusti Made Murjana.

To deal with the AEC 2015, according to Murjana, the educational institutions should prepare and produce their students to become qualified and professional workforce, especially those that had special department like vocational high school (SMK) and others. Preparing the experts at early stage would be able to face the challenge and competition getting tougher.

“In the future, I hope there will be more and more professionals produced in Bali. So, we do not need for external labor. If possible, we can send our experts to foreign countries,” he said.

On that account, he called on the management of educational institution to give more priority to the quality of education. In addition, after having finished their education, none would be unemployed. Moreover, in the future, the IT personnel would be needed and the opportunity to be absorbed by industry would be very large.

“I want that our students can take part and their expertise can be reckoned by foreign businessmen. Aside from in the tourism sector alone, the IT personnel must also be able to compete,” said the Principal of the SMK TI Bali Global.

Therefore, his party was working hard to create a workforce having good skills. Moreover, many foreign workers came into Bali and if it would not be anticipated our local labor would be eliminated. “The opportunity to work in the technology world is huge. I ask the future generations not to squander this opportunity. Make preparation with skills in order to able to compete,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to tourism academician, Dr. I Ketut Putra Suarthana, Bali was ready to face the AEC in terms of manpower, personnel, and it had been anticipated by competency certification. “With the certification of competencies, the labor has a special certificate in their own field. Overseas workers who come to Bali must also have a certificate of competency,” he added.

In addition, according to Putra, the cultural tourism in Bali remained to become a leading sector. Most travelers coming to Bali wanted to get to know and enjoy the culture of this Island of the Gods. “We expect the labor owned by Bali to still give priority on services. We compete in the matter of service, not the matter of price. Therefore, the service must be the best. Meanwhile, from the beginning we have instilled to the output in order they firstly master the English language, provide satisfactory services to guests and has the knowledge on hospitality and ethics,” said Putra. (rah)

International

W

RLD

GIANYAR - The existence public rural-urban transportation in Gianyar is increasingly abandoned and increasingly rarer.

This happens due to the increasing number of motor vehicle ownership in the community. Even, the school children who are still minors have now been using motorcycle to go to school.

It was recognized by Chairman

of the Gianyar Land Transportation Organization (Organda), Wayan Balik Ari Semadi, in response to the disappearance of the rural transportation within the past few years. Of the hundreds of transportation vehicles in Gianyar, currently only survived 40 vehicles. Even, they mostly no longer operated because the driver should often pay the operational cost as lacking of passengers.

Passenger priority for the public

transport all this time was school children. Rapid development and in harmony with the motorcycle ownership by the community had made public transport abandoned.

“Nevertheless, there were still some public transportation that operated in several areas such as in the area of Ubud, Tampaksiring and Payangan,” he said.

He added that public transportation in urban areas also suffered a similar fate. They mostly operated

during the time when students went and left schools. This condition was seen in Blahbatuh, he explained.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, bad sights were seen in recent years in a number of areas within the jurisdiction of Gianyar Police.

Many school students who were still minors had ridden a motorcycle when going to school. Even, this condition could not be used to definitively conclude that it

happened because of the scarcity of public transport. Or otherwise many students under age rode motorcycle had caused the public transport to lack of passengers.

“Currently, along with Gianyar Police and Transportation Agency and Informatics and Communication Agency are looking for a solution to these two problems.

Later on, there is possibility to make cooperation with schools,” he explained. (kmb16)

13

Ukraine feels nervous as big powers debate fate Associated Press Writer

KIEV, Ukraine — As top diplomats from Russia and the United States have met in Europe’s capitals to decide Ukraine’s fate in recent weeks, there’s been a conspicuous absence: a representative from Ukraine. Russia has refused to deal with Ukraine’s new government since protests in February ousted the pro-Russian president. And while the West supports the fledgling leadership, it has left an impression that it’s in charge of talks with the Kremlin.

Time and again through history, Ukraine has been caught in big power politics. Historians draw parallels between how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin divided Europe at Yalta after World War II — trapping eastern European countries in the Soviet orbit. Now some Ukrainians fear history is repeating itself as they are shut out of negotiations — and sit on the sidelines waiting for a verdict. Ordinary Ukrainians are mostly grateful for Western efforts to mediate the crisis and more than anything are terrified by the prospect of war. But officials have sought to stress that Ukraine’s voice must be heard.

At a news conference last week, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky insisted that decisions regarding Ukraine’s future must not be made without Kiev’s input: “No real dialogue is possible without Ukraine,” Lubkivsky said.

That is why the announcement this week of high-level talks between the United States, the EU, Ukraine

and Russia — expected to take place in the next 10 days — was met with hope in Kiev.

Despite angry rhetoric, the West has largely accepted the reality of Russia’s takeover of Crimea. Diplomatic efforts are now focused on preventing Russia’s military incursion into the Russian-speaking east and south of Ukraine, where Moscow claims it needs to protect Russian-speakers. With thousands of Russian troops amassed near the border with Ukraine, Moscow seeks to dictate conditions: It wants to turn Ukraine into a loose federation that it can control, and is pushing for Russian to become the second official state language, on par with Ukrainian.

Kiev has so far refused to cave to Moscow’s demands — as any step that dents Ukraine’s hopes of integrating with the West will be met with fierce resistance from the Maidan, the pro-Western protest movement. More than 100 people were killed in the protesters’ clashes

with police.But facing enormous military and economic pressure from Russia, there is little Ukraine can do on its own, some experts say — so Kiev has to rely on Western patronage.

“During the Cold War, U.S. secretaries of state and Soviet foreign ministers routinely negotiated the outcome of crises and the fate of countries. It has been a long time since such talks have occurred, but last week a feeling of deja vu overcame me,” George Freedman of Stratfor, a U.S. global intelligence think tank, wrote recently.

A Christmas tree construction, which has remained untouched from the Christmas holidays because of recent violence, is decorated with the anti-war posters and a Hitler-like portrait of Putin in Kiev’s Independent square, Ukraine, Saturday, April 5, 2014.

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Hagel, Chang air differences over disputed islands Associated Press Writer

Public transport abandoned and increasingly rarer Bali Post

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

AP Photo/Alex Wong, Pool

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan shake hands at the end of a joint news conference at the Chinese Defense Ministry headquarters in Beijing, China Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

BEIJING — The defense chiefs of China and the U.S. are facing off over Beijing’s escalating territorial disputes in the region, with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel telling China it doesn’t have the right to unilaterally establish an air defense zone over disputed islands with no consultation.

And he said on Tuesday America will protect Japan in a dispute with China, as laid out in U.S. treaty obligations.

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said his country will not take the initiative to stir up troubles with Japan, but Beijing is ready to use its military if needed to safeguard its territory. And he warned that the U.S. must “stay vigilant” against Japan’s actions and “not be permissive and supportive” of Tokyo.

The U.S. has criticized Beijing’s recent declaration of an air defense zone over a large swath of the East China Sea, including disputed islands controlled

by Japan.

In their remarks, the two men aired their countries’ well-known positions about the territorial disputes, although

doing it for the first time in China, shoulder to shoulder after nearly two hours of meetings here.

“Every nation has a right to establish an air defense zone, but not a right to do it unilaterally with no collaboration, no consultation. That adds to tensions, misunderstandings, and could eventually add to, and eventually get to dangerous conflict,” said Hagel, poking his figure toward the television cameras and photographers at the back of the room, as shutters clicked.

For his part, Chang said China stands ready to resolve the disputes diplomatically. But he made it clear that China is always ready to respond to threats.

On the issue of territorial sovereignty, Chang said, “we will make no compromise, no concession, no trading, not even a tiny ... violation is allowed.”

On a broader scale, the meeting focused on how the U.S. and China can build stronger ties, in the wake of years of frosty relations over Beijing’s military buildup, persistent cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies and private industry, and aggressive Chinese territorial claims in the East China Sea.

14

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Technology

International

High-tech items giving deaf-blind online access Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2001 file photo, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stands in New York’s Times Square to promote the new Windows XP operating system.

End of Windows XP support spells trouble for some

SANDS POINT, N.Y. — Tanisha Verdejo loves to surf the Internet for online shopping deals. She chats on Facebook, learns about new recipes and enjoys sending emails to friends and family. Verdejo, who can’t see or hear, could do none of that a year ago.

The 40-year-old New Yorker lives in a group home in Port Washington and is among the thousands of people with combined hearing and vision loss to have benefited from a pilot program called iCanConnect. The initiative provides low-income deaf-blind individuals with the most up-to-date telecommunications devices for free and special training to use them.

“For me, it’s opened up my whole world,” Verdejo said through a sign language interpreter at the Helen Keller National Center in suburban Long Island. The center, along with the Boston-based Perkins School for the Blind, is working with state agencies and others around the country to distribute items like refreshable Braille displays, amplified telephones and computer programs that allow for large print displays for those who may be vision-impaired but not entirely blind. Much of the equipment is compatible with Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad and connect via Bluetooth.

“Modern technology has rapidly progressed, and we are available to provide individuals with combined vision and hearing loss the best technology and telecommunications tools for their individual needs,” said Thomas J. Edwards, president of Helen Keller Services for the Blind, which has 11 regional offices around the country.

For Verdejo and others, the changes have been dramatic. “I’m able now to access anything I want,” Verdejo said. “I mean, I have all these apps here and can see anything now. I see it through my Braille device.”

Established by the Federal Communications Commission, the pilot program allocates $10 million annually for low-income deaf-blind people to get the equipment. The program, which is in the second year of a three-year study, is open to individuals earning less than $44,680 annually, with income limits slightly higher in Hawaii and Alaska.

An estimated 2,000 people have benefited in the program’s first 18 months, said Betsy McGinnity, a Perkins spokeswoman. She said she was confident it could be extended beyond the three-year study period.

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — Microsoft will end support for the persistently popular Windows XP on Tuesday, and with an estimated 30 percent of businesses and consumers still using the 12-yearold operating system, the move could put everything from the operations of heavy industry to the identities of everyday people in danger. “What once was considered low-hanging fruit by hackers now has a big neon bull’s eye on it,” says Patrick Thomas, a security consultant at the San Jose, California-based firm Neohapsis.

Microsoft has released a handful of Windows operating systems since 2001, but XP’s popularity and the durability of the computers it was installed on kept it around longer than expected. Analysts say that if a PC is more than five years old, chances are it’s running XP. While users can still run XP after Tuesday, Microsoft says it will no longer provide new security updates, issued fixes to non-security related problems or offer online technical content updates. The Redmond, Wash.-based company says it will provide anti-malwarerelated updates through July 14, 2015, but warns that the tweaks could be of limited help on an outdated operating system.

Most industry observers say they recognize that the time for Microsoft to end support for such a dated system has come, but the move poses both security and op-

erational risks for the remaining users. In addition to home computers, XP is used to run everything from water treatment facilities and power plants to small businesses like doctor’s offices.

Thomas says XP appealed to a wide variety of people and businesses that saw it as a reliable workhorse and many chose to stick with it instead of upgrading to Windows Vista, Windows 7 or 8.

Thomas notes that companies that don’t like risk, generally don’t like change. As a result, companies most likely to still be using XP include banks and financial services companies, along with health care providers. He also pointed to schools from the university level down, saying that they often don’t have enough money to fund equipment upgrades.

Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of

Malwarebytes, says that without patches to fix bugs in the software XP PCs will be prone to freezing up and crashing, while the absence of updated security related protections make the computers susceptible to hackers.

He added that future security patches released for Microsoft’s newer systems will serve as a way for nefarious people to reverse engineer ways to breach now-unprotected Windows XP computers.

“It’s going to be interesting to say the least,” he says. “There are plenty of black hats out there that are looking for the first vulnerability and will be looking at Windows 7 and 8 to find those vulnerabilities. And if you’re able to find a vulnerability in XP, it’s pretty much a silver key.” Those weaknesses can affect businesses both large and small.

Bali News

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Length of stay kindled

by Asian market surge

3

Bali Post

DENPASAR - The surge in tourist arrival from the Asian tourism market is not necessarily bringing in a positive impact on tourism in Bali. Precisely, such dominant market negatively contributed to the decline in the length of stay of foreign tourists on the Island of the Gods.

“Now, the foreign tourist arrival in Bali is dominated by Asian market, so the length of stay of travelers diminishes. Such condition will continue to decline considering the Asian markets such as China tends to continuously increase,” said Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) of Bali, Ngurah Wijaya, in Denpasar.

He said the length of stay of the Asian travelers was lower than that of European travelers.

Moreover, the presence of the rich from the market to Bali was still relatively low. In addition, a decrease in the length of stay was also caused by the air policy of the Indonesian government.

“Now, the arrival of Chinese travelers has been rated second after Australia, followed by Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea,” he said.

Ngurah Wijaya admitted the quality of tourists coming to Bali was much lower than those in the 1980s. At that time, they were recorded to have spending money reaching USD 300 per person with the length of stay reaching 14 days.

“Now, the tourists arrival amounts to 2.5 million per year, but their spending money only reaches around USD 100 per person with the length of stay up to 3 days,” he said.

Such conditions were assessed to happen in harmony with the shifting concept of tourism in

Bali from the tourism of special interest to mass tourism. To that end, the Bali tourism should change the paradigm from mass tourism to special interest (segmented tourism). Development of special interest tourism would boost the economic growth in the whole of Bali.

“The most appropriate tourism for Bali is not mass tourism, but tourism of special interest because it can attract tourists who can spend something with a higher cost. It includes the spiritual tourism, cultural tourism, golfing tourism and others. To that end, we are encouraging the government to create a segmented tourism,” he explained.

The development of special interest tourism would also have an impact on improving the economic and social welfare. With the high level of expenditure and longer length of stay, their consumption would automatically increase as well. “When the length of stay is only 3 days, there will be no spread of travelers to the North and West of Bali. And the amount spent will be less,” he said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bali, Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati previously admitted that an increase in tourist arrivals to Bali was not proportional to the increase in room occupancy. Tourists who came to Bali continued to increase while the hotel occupancy rate in Bali

IBP/Eka Adhiyasa

The surge in tourist arrival from the Asian tourism market is not necessarily bringing in a positive impact on tourism in Bali. Precisely, such dominant market negatively contributed to the decline in the length of stay of foreign tourists on the Island of the Gods. tended to decrease.

“The increase in tourist arrival is not necessarily a benchmark for the increase in room occupancy. This is partly due to the length of stay of travelers. The decrease in occupancy rate happens due to the addition of new accommodation such as hotels, villas, apartments including other

properties,” he explained.

He mentioned the length of stay of travelers in Bali continued to fall. If in the year 2011 the length of stay of travelers reached 3.9 days, while in 2012 it dropped to 2.9 days. Many factors caused the travelers to possibly be saturated with Bali tourism sector.

Meanwhile, the Bali Govern-

ment Tourism Office noted the arrival of foreign tourists to Bali during the period of JanuaryFebruary 2014 was dominated

by Australian, reaching 133,973 people, followed by China (109,003), Malaysia (33,560), Japan (30,691), South Korea (24,292), Singapore (22,309) and Taiwan (18,704). (kmb27)

Agricultural sector unable to compete in AEC 2015 Bali Post

AP Photo/Frank Eltman

In this Wednesday, March 26, 2014 photo, Tanisha Verdejo, a client at the Helen Keller National Center, demonstrates the use of a specially designed keyboard that helps blind clients access the Internet, in Sands Point, N.Y.

MANGUPURA - The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) poses the implementation of the ASEAN free trade policies (AFTA).

It aims to strengthen the ASEAN economic competitiveness in the global economic system. As one of the AEC members, Indonesia with a high natural potential actually has a great opportunity to benefit in the ASEAN trading system.

“In terms of competitiveness in the agriculture, in fact Indonesia is

not yet ready to take advantage of the AEC trade system. This condition will worsen our food security,” said Secretary of the Indonesia Farmers Union (HKTI) of Badung, I Ketut Sugiana.

Actually, Sugiana added the tariff reduction target reaching 0 percent in 2015 truly gave the export opportunity to the agricultural commodity of the ASEAN member countries which had a population of up to 500 million people. The problems faced by Indonesia in taking these opportunities, among

others, were the lack of farming capital, low level of production efficiency, production technology and less advanced processing. Thus, the opportunity for Indonesia to take advantage of the ASEAN trade including the agricultural commodities was very low.

“Even, it will be a threat for Indonesia and becomes importing country of the agricultural commodities. Thus, the AEA will be profitable for Indonesia when we are able to improve the competitiveness of the ASEAN member

countries. However, it will be very detrimental when Indonesia only serves as consumers and it is surely very disturbing the domestic food sovereignty,” he asserted while adding that in terms of competitiveness in the agricultural sector, Indonesia was actually not yet ready to take advantage.

Have the agribusiness and agroindustry been explored so as to promote the food security in Indonesia? “Indeed they have, but when speaking about competitiveness especially the non-specific commodi-

ties, of course Indonesia still loses out. For example, Indonesia is not the only rice producing country,” said the agricultural observer from Abiansemal, Badung.

Actually, if the agribusiness and agro-industry were well developed, they would be able to promote food security in Indonesia. In addition, by promoting the food security, the farmers’ welfare could also be increased. “With a low competitiveness, Indonesia will not become an exporting country but importing country,” he affirmed. (rah)

2

International

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Bali News

Increasing, awareness to send children to disabled school Bali Post

SINGARAJA - Awareness of parents in Buleleng to send their children to school of disabled (SLB) begins to increase recently. It is evidenced by the data of students in the SLB-B Negeri Singaraja where until this year there are 118 people and SLB-C Negeri Singaraja has 79 people. The number of student drastically increases compared to several years earlier.

It was expressed by the Principal of the SLB-B Negeri Singaraja, Wayan Sri Armini, on the sidelines of the opening the competition among the students and employees of the school of disabled throughout Buleleng, Monday (Apr 7) at the SLB Singaraja. The competition was held to mark the celebration of the 410th anniversary of the Singaraja town.

Furthermore, Armini said that some parents were reluctant to send their children with congenital defects or lower intelligence quotient (IQ) to SLB Negeri Singaraja. They admitted to feel ashamed due to such disability or low IQ. Even, on one side the school authority (SLB) had visited the children with disabilities or low IQ to be educated in the SLB Negeri Singaraja, but their parents prohibited with a variety of reasons such as embarrassment because they were handicapped children or parents said to have no time to supervise their children when the education was given in special school. For this condition, the children who should take the same education as normal children were forced not to have the right to get optimal education. “Formerly, we were already looking for the disabled

children to their home to be educated in special school but they were not allowed to attend school for reasons of shame or not enough time to take care of the children in special school,” she said.

Although hampered by such barriers, added Armini, due to the support of local government that intensively made socialization to villages, the parents finally sent their children to SLB Negeri Singaraja. They were increasingly aware and willing to send their beloved children to get education as the right of every human being. Other than inspiring and supporting their children at school, local government also paid enough attention to facilities and infrastructure in the SLB Singaraja. Armini exemplified, children whose house was far from the town had been prepared a dormitory at the SLB, so that parents no longer needed to look for a place to stay for their children attending the special school. In addition, the tuition fee for all students was also free of charge and they were getting help from local government and from donations.

“We are grateful the government has paid quite a lot of attention and

The students of disabled school in Singaraja we struggle to help children who need special treatment so they can attend school. And this received a positive response from parents,” she explained.

Armini added that based on the data up to this year, the student of SLB-B Negeri Singaraja amounted to 118 people with the disabilities such as mute and deaf. Meanwhile, the SLB-C had 79 students and most of these children had lower IQ compared to normal children in general. All the students had got education ranging from elementary to high school/ vocational school.

Meanwhile, one of the student parents, Luh Sri Mirahyoni, from Bungkulan, Sawan subdistrict, said the service of education in the SLB Negeri

Singaraja had been very good. She admitted that previously never thought to send her son with hearing disorder to school. However, after attending the socialization she finally realized and decided to send her son to the SLB Negeri Singaraja. After schooling, the only son of three children in the family indicated a quite good progress and his IQ had increased.

“It has been very good and we are also assisted.

Frankly speaking, we never thought of sending our son to school because his hearing is not normal.

After attending school, our only son could get the same education as other normal children,” she affirmed. (mud)

AMLAPURA - The act of the former British boxer, Dean, 50, seemed to mimic the former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson who fought while biting the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield. When fighting, the offender Dean from Britain bit the ear of victim Robert Felder, 47, from Germany to tear.

The victim’s wife did not accept her husband Robert to be persecuted. The witness then reported

Dean to police station. After that, the offender Dean was arrested by police, Monday (Apr 7) and taken to Karangasem Police. Chief of the Criminal Investigator, Dewa Anom, with permission from Karangasem Police Chief justified the case on Monday. The report of victim’s wife had been followed up. The offender was arrested. Allegedly the offender persecuted the victim as a result of getting emotional due to misunderstanding where the victim and the offender were equally

drunk of alcohol. They both fought in the offender’s house in Manggis, Karangasem.

Other than biting the victim’s left ear to tear, the victim’s abdomen was also strongly kicked by the offender who was a former boxer.

Face of the victim was afflicted by the offender’s boxing to cause bloody nose as well. Besides, the victim suffered a bruise in his left eye and abrasions on the cheek.

The persecution was then arbitrated by victim’s wife. The victim

was then rushed to a clinic in Manggis. Unfortunately, the clinic officers were unable to handle the victim so the victim having the address at Taman Mulya Housing Jimbaran was then referred to Sanglah Hospital.

The victim’s wife originally went to Karangasem because she received information if her husband Robert got traffic accident. When the witness asked for information to her husband, in fact, it was just known if her husband was beaten

by the offender.

Prior to the incident, the victim who is a business colleague of the offender was drinking alcohol in the Kassa Mareela Villa at Buitan, Manggis. After getting drunk, the offender hit the victim. But the punch of the drunken victim was weak, so it did not cause the offender to get injured. But the victim, said the witnesses, kept acting up so as to make the offender lose temper. The victim also received the aftermath from the offender. (013)

 Founder : K.Nadha,  General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti  Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi.  Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp.

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IBP

JIMBARAN - InterContinental Bali Resort is proud to be awarded as “Popular for Beach Holiday” 2014 by Holiday Check. Holiday Check Award 2014 is given based on the the number of positive reviews and the recommendations from the guests who have stayed and experienced the beachfront luxurious services at the InterContinental Bali Resort. haven offering discerning travelers a ‘resort within a resort’ that further enriches their holiday experience.

“This is truly an earnest token of appreciation by our guests and partners whom I would like to express my sheer gratitude.” comments Mr. Michel Chertouh, General Manager of InterContinental Bali Resort.

InterContinental Bali Resort has also been a recipient of many other prestigious and acclaimed awards by various reputable institutions and accredited agencies such as: Fox News top 10 family resorts worldwide, TUI Holly Award, Best Resort Hotel Asia Pacific by Business Traveller Asia Pacific, to name a few.

Calendar Event for March 5 through May 21, 2014 IBP/File

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

InterContinental Bali awarded “Most Popular Beach Holiday” The award is given to a selected few popular hotels worldwide and was presented in an official ceremony that took place in Berlin this year.

InterContinental Bali Resort stands out from the other resorts on the island by the fact that it is located in one of the most beautiful bays of Bali with azure , clear sea – the Jimbaran Bay, and encompasses well manicured tropical gardens as well. In this environment, the guest can enjoy unobtrusive comfort of the resort, perfect service and specially designed spa treatments and recreational activities all year round.

Besides the location, the resort also offers its premier accommodation at Club InterContinental that truly re defines luxury - an exclusive

Former British boxer bites ear of his friend Bali Post

Activities

International

5 Mar Hari Urip 6 Mar Hari Patetegan 7 Mar Pengeradanan Pura Dadia Agung Pasek Kabayan Penebel Tabanan 8 Mar Saraswati Pura Pasek tangkas Gempinis Dalang Tabanan Pura Pasek Gelgel Sayan Abiansemal Pura Watu Gunung Bima Pura Agung Jagat Karana Surabaya Pura Aditya Jaya Jakarta Pura Pemaksan Banyuning Timur Pura Agung Wira Loka Cimahi Jawa Barat 9 Mar Hari Banyu Pinaruh 10 Mar Soma Ribek Pura Jati Jembrana Pura Kawitan Bayu Gaiyang Bangli Tirta Wening Surabaya Pura Desa Lingga Wana Abang Karangasem 11 Mar Sabuh Mas 12 Mar Hari Pagerwesi Pura Labang Sindu JiwaUbud Pura Kehen Bangli Pura Wira Bhuana Magelang Jawa tengah Pura Padang Sakti Denpasar Timur Pura Payogan Agung Ketewel Gianyar Pura Gaduh Pangiasan Dauh Puri Denpasar Pura Masceti Tampak Siring Pura Dalem Ularan Denpasar Pura Siwa Penebel Tabanan Pura Luhur Sliki Banyuwangi Pura Gunung Lebah Ubud Pura Puseh Sukawati 15 Mar Purnama Sasih Kesanga Pura Nataran Sasih Pejeng Gianyar Pura Bukit Mentik Gunung lebah Batur Kintamani 17 Mar Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan 22 Mar Tumpek Landep Pura Mutering Jagat Dalem Sidakarya

Denpasar Pura Agung Pasek Tabanan Pura Pasek Tangkas Tabanan Pura Kerta Banyuning Buleleng Pura Dalem Tenggaling Singapadu Gianyar Pura Bhujangga Jembrana Pura Dalem pingit Tegalalang Pura Penataran Pande Pandean Mengwi Pura Ida Ratu Pande Besakih Pura Penataran AGung Tulikup Pura Kumuda Saraswati Ubud Pura Batur Arya Tabanan 23 Mar Radite Umanis Ukir Sanggah Gede Dukuh Segening Tegal Tugu Gianyar 26 Mar Buda Cemeng Ukir Pura Pajenengan Kawitan Arya Gelgel Kelungkung Pura Pasar Agung Besakih Pura Pasek Bendesa Legian Kuta Badung Pura Gde Gunung Agung Munggu Badung Pura Puseh Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Peruncak Badung Pura Pasek Bendesa Hyang Krobokan Badung Pura Kereban Langit Mengwi Badung 28 Mar Melasti Pakiyisan Ke Segara Pura Pasek Gelgel Kukuh Marga 30 Mar Tilem Kesanga Tawur Agung 31 Mar Hari Raya Nyepi 1 May Buda Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan

2 May Bhatara Sri Ida Ratu Geng Besakih Pura Penataran Agung Besakih Ida Ratu Raja Puraus Besakih Merajan Saloding Besakih 6 May Anggara Kasih Juluwangi Pura Thirta Harum Tegal Wangi Bangli Pura Baratan Baturiti Pura Batu Klotok Klungkung

Pura Pasek Tohjiwa Wanasari Tabanan Pura Ibu Wanagiri Selemadeg Tabanan Pura Manik Bingin Dukuh Sidemen 7 May Pura Penataran Gana Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Gede Pande Bangli Pura Puncak Sari Sangeh Abian Semal Pura Puseh Penegil Dharma Kubu Tambahan Bangli Pura Dalem Maya Blahbatuh Gianyar Pura Linggih Betara Kayu Selem Penataran Agung Besakih 13 May Purnama Sasih Jiyestha Pura Dwija Warsa Malang Pura Pucak Tinggah Angsri Baturiti Pura Kawitan Luhur Bhujangga Jati Luwih Penebel Pura Kawitan Batur Pande Tonja Tonja Denpasar Pura Penataran Agung Sidemen Karangasem Pura Maospahit Grenceng Denpasar 15 May Sugihan Jawa Pura Kawitan Tangkas Kori Agung Tangkas Klungkung Pura Siang Kangin Peninjoan Tembuku Bangli Pura Ida Ratu Mas Penataran Agung Besakih Pura Ida Bhatara Bang Tulus Besakih 16 May Sugihan Bali Dan Kajeng Kliwon 18 May Penyekeban 19 May Penyajaan Galungan 20 May Penampahan Galungan 21 May Hari Raya Galungan Pura Wakika Kupang NTT Pura Agung Girinatha Sumbawa Besar NTB Pura Dukuh Sakti Dukuh Kediri Tabanan Pura Atambuananta Kutamba NTT Pura Webananta Kupang NTT Pura Giripati Mulawarman Pontianak Pura Mustika Dharma Cijantung Jakarta Timur

IBP/Courtesy of InterContinental

Balinese Temple Ceremony Every Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

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

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

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

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

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

16 Pages Number 77 6th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Entertainment

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Mamma Mia: ABBA mark 40 years since breakthrough Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Four decades on from the flares, fame and fabulousness, the members of ABBA say they have no regrets — not even about the clothes.

Members of the Swedish supergroup marked 40 years since their international breakthrough hit “Waterloo” on Monday with a party for hundreds of guests at London’s Tate Modern gallery.

Bjorn Ulvaeus said he felt “extremely proud and humbled” by decades of success that includes hit records, the stage and movie musical “Mamma Mia” and a Stockholm museum dedicated to the band. And Frida Lyngstad said she was proud of ABBA’s ultra-70s look of big boots and spangly jumpsuits, documented in a new photo book about

the band.

“It was our youth, it was our time, and we decided how we wanted to dress ourselves onstage,” said Lyngstad. “And it was fun.” She said some performers “are even more courageous nowadays, if you think of Lady Gaga, for example.”

Lyngstad said she could not explain the global success of ABBA, which rocketed when the band won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo.” The quartet’s blend of poppy melodies, lush harmonies and slick arrangements helped them sell more than 400 million records around the world.

“We never had a formula,” Lyngstad said. “We just did what we loved the most. And the great thing was maybe that the four of us met and started to work together the way we did. Two great songwriters, Bjorn and Benny, together

with Agnetha’s and my voices.” The foursome eventually fractured, with the band’s two married couples — Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog— divorcing.

But Ulvaeus said the four of them recently met up, and “the chemistry is still there.” “We bonded instantly,” he said. So are they tempted to make fans’ wishes come true with an ABBA reunion? Lyngstad laughed. “No,” she said.

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

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Ship hunts for more ‘pings’ in Malaysia jet search

Page 6

Ukraine feels nervous as big powers debate fate

Bayern Munich has trouble against English clubs

Page 8

Page 13

General election

28 countries to observe polling day

Swedish singer’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, left, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, of the pop group ABBA, pose on the red carpet for the band’s International anniversary party at the Tate Modern in central London, Monday, April 7, 2014.

‘Captain America’ largest April opener with $95M

WEATHER FORECAST 23 - 32 Dps

IBP

Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Images

JAKARTA - Representatives from 28 countries visited the General Elections Commission (KPU) building here on Tuesday to report their presence on the polling day on Wednesday, according to report by state news agency, Antara.

“They (visitors) wish to see how the general elections are being carried out in Indonesia, especially across a number of polling stations,” Central KPU commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay stated after receiving the guests.

Indonesians across the country

will go to the polls on April 9 to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), provincial and district/city legislative assemblies (DPRD I and II) and the Regional Representative Counci; (DPD) in the legislative elections.

Hadar Nafis Gumay added that

KPU welcomed those who wished to witness the process of polling and vote counting at polling stations to know how democracy is implemented in the country.

As visitors, he pointed out, they have no authority to give public opinion regarding their observation.

“They are mere visitors and not observers and so they need not make reports and cannot publicize their opinions formally regarding what they see,” he remarked.

The visitors from 28 foreign

countries and independent groups totaling 154 will see the polling situation and atmosphere in various cities such as Yogyakarta, Aceh, Ambon and Jakarta.

The Executive Director of “Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi” (Perludem - Association for General Elections and Democracy), Titi Anggraini, stated that Perludem had brought 10 visitors from three countries namely China, Bangladesh and the US.” “They are divided into two teams to observe the implementation of

the general elections in Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Later this evening they will take a tour to observe the preparations for the legislative elections,” she commented.

The foreign visitors came to see the implementation of the world’s second largest elections after the US done in one day with a massive number of candidates involved.

The visitors came from among others Germany, Russia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Hungary, Malaysia and Libya.

Continued on page 6

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — It took in less than the weekend estimates of $96.2 million, but “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was still the weekend’s box office hero, setting the record for the largest domestic April debut with a solid $95 million. The comic-book-adapted sequel, starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, continues the massive success of Disney and Marvel’s superhero franchise.

Paramount’s biblical epic “Noah,” featuring performances by Russell Crowe in the title role, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson, dropped drastically in its second week. After debuting with $44 million, it earned only $17 million domestically. But overall, it has still earned $72.4 million domestically.

In the world of young adult adaptations, Lionsgate’s sci-fi thriller “Divergent,” starring Shailene Woodley, ranked No. 3 with $13 million. It has now gained more than $114 million stateside after its third week in theaters.

The top 10 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

In this Monday, March 24, 2014 photo, actress Scarlett Johansson stands between Samuel L. Jackson, left, and Chris Evans during a publicity event ahead of the April release of their movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” in Beijing.

1. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Disney 2. “Noah,” Paramount 3. “Divergent,” Lionsgate 4. “God’s Not Dead,” Freestyle Releasing 5. “Muppets Most Wanted,” Disney 6. “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Fox Searchlight 7. “Mr. Peabody And Sherman,” 20th Century Fox 8. “Sabotage,” Open Road.

9. “Need for Speed,” Disney 10. “Non-Stop,” Universal

REUTERS/Beawiharta

Men hold a sign showing the polling station’s number, as the station is prepared for the upcoming parliamentary election in Jakarta April 8, 2014. The parliamentary election will be held on April 9.