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Thursday, August 9, 2018

Lady Gaga heads to Vegas with dual shows

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Thursday, August 9, 2018

NEW YORK - Pop star Lady Gaga on Tuesday announced a residency in Las Vegas with twin shows to display her two sides -- extravagant and glitzy, and stripped back and jazzy.

At 32, Lady Gaga is unusually young and culturally prominent to launch a residency in Sin City, generally the preserve of older artists who either want to set up elaborate productions away from the rigors of the road or to cash in on the nostalgia of tourists.

Lady Gaga said her shows would begin on December 28 at the newly rebranded Park MGM, a giant complex on the Las Vegas Strip which was initially built as the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in the style of the Mediterranean gambling hub. The synth-pop star once known for her eyepopping attire and ultraextroverted sexuality plans two shows, with one, entitled “Lady Gaga Enigma,”

promising more of her theatrics.

“We’re creating a show unlike anything I’ve done before. It will be a celebration of all that is unique and different within us,” she said in a statement.

“The challenges of bravery can be overcome with creativity and courage that is grown out of adversity, love and music.”

The other show, “Lady Gaga Jazz and Piano,” will star her singing minimalist versions of her songs as well as pop standards.

Gaga refashioned her career four years ago when she teamed up with classic crooner Tony Bennett, who is six decades her senior.

She similarly adopted a more mature sound on her latest album, “Joanne,” which veered into country music with lyrics about family ties.

Lady Gaga announced “Enigma” shows through November 2019 with only a handful of the stripped-back concerts. (afp)

West Hollywood council says Trump’s Walk of Fame star must go LOS ANGELES - A small district of Los Angeles has asked that Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame be removed, in part because of the way he treats women.

The initiative by the city council of West Hollywood comes less than two weeks after the star was vandalized by a man with a pickax.

The body unanimously approved a motion urging the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

to remove the brass-rimmed star, which was installed in 2007 in recognition of Trump’s performance on the reality TV show “The Apprentice.”

West Hollywood is a liberal district with a large LGBT community and free- wheeling nightlife.

The council said the star must go because of Trump’s “disturbing treatment of women and other actions that do not meet the shared values of the City of West Hollywood, the region, state, and

country.”

However, the city council does not have jurisdiction over the Walk of Fame. It’s up to the Chamber of Commerce whether to remove the tribute to Trump.

In 2015, it rejected a request to remove the star of Bill Cosby, the once beloved comedian now convicted of sexual assault.

Trump’s star was also vandalized in October 2016 while he was the Republican candidate for president. (afp)

ADEK BERRY / AFP

A woman carries pillows through the rubble of damaged houses in Menggala, north Lombok on August 8, 2018, three days after the area was struck by an earthquake. More than 70,000 people left homeless by a deadly earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok are sleeping in makeshift shelters and lack food, medicine and clean water, officials said on August 8.

‘Why are they leaving me?’ Indonesian abandoned in quake chaos

DAVID MCNEW / AFP

In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, the new Hollywood Walk of Fame Star of US President Donald Trump nears completion after being destroyed by a vandal.

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Lying in agony with a broken leg at the entrance to a mosque in Lombok, Alimuddin screamed for help as a powerful earthquake brought down the building around him on Sunday.

“I tried to move my leg, lift it up, and that’s when I realised it was broken,” the 49-year-old, who goes by one name, told AFP from a stretcher outside a hospital in Mataram. It was only by chance that another congregant heard his desperate pleas for help and dragged him from the place of worship.

Alimuddin soon found himself at a nearby hospital, where overstretched medical staff fled his bedside after an aftershock triggered fears of a tsunami.

“I thought ‘Why are they leaving me behind?’ But I couldn’t blame them because they were trying to save themselves,” he said.

The medical staff later returned, only to abandon him again because another patient with a bleeding head wound needed urgent attention. Alimuddin’s ordeal underlines the chaotic scenes across Lombok, a volcanic island to the east of Bali, after the shallow 6.9-magnitude quake struck Sunday evening.

It killed at least 131 people and

damaged tens of thousands of buildings, just a week after another tremor in the holiday island killed 17 people.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims like Alimuddin are being treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other hard-hit areas. More than 156,000 people were displaced by the quake.

Local authorities, international NGOs and the central government have begun organising aid, but shattered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of Lombok, which was hardest hit.

There is a dire need for medical staff, food and medicine in

the worst-hit areas, according to Muhammad Zainul Majdi, the governor of West Nusa Tenggara province which covers Lombok.

“We have limited human resources. Some paramedics have to be at the shelters, some need to be mobile,” Majdi told AFP. The Indonesian Red Cross said it had set up 10 mobile clinics in the north of the island and field hospitals have been established in other areas.

But even in the main city of Mataram, the injured are staying in non-sterile environments and facing long delays for treatment.

Alimuddin was forced to spend the night in a hospital parking lot

before he was finally operated on.

His wife Maria Ulfa, who stood vigil, was exasperated by the delay -- but Alimuddin was taking a more philosophical view.

“Ultimately I surrender myself to God. This is what we call a calamity and we can’t prevent it,” he said. (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

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Thursday, August 9, 2018

Bali News

Following earthquake, 1,038 tourists evacuated to Benoa Harbor

DENPASAR - Hundreds of personnel from the Denpasar Police, Pelindo, Pelni, SAR and the Indonesian Navy secured the evacuation of tourists from Lombok (NTB) to Benoa Harbor, Denpasar following the earthquake on Sunady (Aug.5). As od Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 7), a total of 1,038 foreign and domestic tourists had arrived at Benoa Harbor after being transported by the Binaiya ship, the Bounty Cruise, KPLP I and 2 ship and the Patagonia ship.

Spokesperson for the Bali Police, Hengky Widjaja, said the ships transporting tourists from Lombok began to anchor in Benoa Harbor on Monday (Aug. 6) around 23:20 local time. The Binaiya ship carrying 86 passengers arrived first and anchored on the East Pier of Benoa Harbor. Then, it was followed by Bounty Cruise transporting 541 passengers and docked at Bounty Pier, Benoa Harbor, on Tuesday at 01:15.

After that, the ships anchoring were respectively the KPLP I Ship transporting 79 passengers, the KPLP 2 ship with 189 passengers and the Patagonia Ship with143 passengers.

“This afternoon at around 17:00, we expect the Pa-

tagonia Xpress Ship with a capacity of 190 passengers to dock. This ship is transporting tourists who were staying on the smaller islands in the NTB region”, said Widjaja on Tusday (Aug. 7).

The Bounty Cruise ship with a capacity of 500 passengers is also on stand-by waiting for passengers to be transported from Lombok. “If the number of passengers is less than 100 people, they will be transported by the Patagonia Ships”, added Widjaja.

Chief of the Denpasar Police, Hadi Purnomo, led the secure evacuation process. This three-jasmine officer even personally helped the tourists as they disembarked.

“This is a humanitarian effort to directly help earthquake victims in Lombok- both foreign tourists and Indonesian citizens”, he added.

The Denpasar Police are coordinating with the Indonesia Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI)’s Bali Chapter to involve all stakeholders in the evacuation process.

“We have coordinated with the PHRI and agreed to provide ambulances and buses to transport the evacuees to their respective hotels, domiciles or to get medical treatment if injured”, said Commissioner Hadi. (kmb36)

International

Handling earthquake damage

District govt provides IDR 2 billion in relief funds

GIANYAR - The earthquake in Lombok on Sunday (Aug. 5) caused the destruction of at least a dozen buildings in the district of Gianyar known for its arts. The district government has therfor set aside a disaster relief fund of DIR 2 billion that can be accessed by submitting a request.

“Gianyar’s district government of Gianyar through the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) is preparing a disaster management fund”, said Acting Regent of Gianyar, Made Gede Wisnu Wijaya, on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

Head of the BPBD Gianyar, Anak Agung Oka Digjaya, explained that they are still collecting daa about the number of buildings damaged in the earthquake. All subdistricts in Gianyar have recorded some damage.

“Our officers are still taking inventory of the damage. Buildings in almost all or subdistricts have been damaged”, said Digjaya, who added that they are working as fast as they can.

The estimate on losses incurred will allow Gianyar’s BPBD to ascertain the needs of people requesting assistance. “Requests for assistance can be addressed ot the

Regent, following which a team will verify the proposed request”, he explained.

Digjaya added that the BPBD will not bear the full cost of repairs requested but will provide limited assistance as encouragement. “We have prepared IDR 2 billion for this year, but obviously this is only to motivate people to make the repairs”, he explained.

The handling of the disaster relief fund, he said will not be complicated. When local residents submit a request for assistance the BPBD will immediately start the administrative process for disbursement. “We are waiting to see if there are any request. They will be processed immediately”, he said.

Disaster recovery has also been assisted by the Gianyar Police as carried out by the village non-commissioned police officer (Bhabinkamtibmas) for Kemenuh village, Sukawati, Ida Bagus Nyoman Darsa. Police helped remove debris from the wall that collapsed from the earthquake in I Gusti Ngruah Adi’s home shrine.

Adi is estimated to have suffered material losses of IDR 30 million. (kmb35)

Lombok earthquake causes losses of IDR 15 billion in Badung

The tourists arrived at Benoa Harbor after evacuated from Gili Islands

IBP/Ngurah Ken

MANGUPURA - The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 that shook North Lombok on Sunday night (Aug. 5) affected a number of public buildings and facilities in Bali’s district of Badung. The earthquake shock felt in Badung has caused estimated losses of up to IDR 15 billion.

Deputy Regent of Badung, Ketut Suiasa has responded by stating that the government of Badung will support the handling of the impact of the earthquake. Data is currently being collecting regarding people affected by the earthquake.

“So far, we have received reports on damage to houses and shrines estimated in the range of IDR 7 15 billion”, said Ketut Suiasa on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

Given that such disasters can occur at any time, this official from Pecatu Village has asked the public to take part in dealing with the

impacts as the government cannot work alone. “The impact includes both material and psychological impacts”, he said.

Suiasa added that a number of holy places in Badung also suffered severe damages due to the earthquake, including Pucak Mangu Temple. Some of the sacred structures such as the meru shrine along with the compound wall suffered severe damage while the split gates (candi bentar) suffered a crack.

“Since Pucak Mangu Temple is holding it’s pujawali or temple festival ceremony, this must be taken seriously”, he said.

The wantilan hall of the Desa Temple of Auman village also suffered severe damage from the earthquake. “This must also be handled immediately as this hall is not only used for local residents to meet, it also functions as a gamelan pavilion”, he said. (kmb27)

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International

Activities

Thursday, August 9, 2018

A NEW LOOK FOR ANA CROWNE PLAZA OSAKA’S “CAFÉ IN THE PARK”

ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka is pleased to launch the new look all day dining restaurant, CAFÉ IN THE PARK. It is the hotel’s main breakfast restaurant with capacity for 104 guests. This fresh, air-conditioned venue with its high ceiling has recently undergone a makeover and has now reopened its entrance doors to introduce an elegant, modern interior. The impressive design is the innovation of the Mr. Toshio Nagao.

CAFÉ IN THE PARK now flaunts a fresh and exciting new plumage based on contemporary modern design. It is structured with a texture of warm-grey stone and delicate black lines. The furniture is made of natural wood and soft baric using blue and yellow to express fun and joy. The carpet reflects the blue Mediterranean Sea and the ceilings are high providing guests with a sense of depth and peace.

The area from the entrance to the indoor dining space, to the buffet to the deli have been cleverly designed to generate a uniquely different mood.

Executive Chef Gennaro Avagnale hails from Italy and has worked for Michelin star restaurants and 5 star Luxury Hotels for 20 years. For the re-opening of CAFÉ IN THE PARK, he has personally selected the exclusive tableware from Europe and put together the menu with pride.

You will see his family’s recipes and cooking style reflected in the cuisine offered during lunch and dinner. Chef Gennaro is very passionate and you will be able to experience his love for Mediterranean cuisine during lunch and dinner buffet.

The restaurant serves an extensive buffet-style breakfast, which offers a vast choice of dishes to suit all tastes, including Japanese, Western and Asian hot and cold specialties, an egg station for à la minute egg dishes, a meat carvery, freshly-baked pastries and breads, as well as an espresso coffee station, fresh fruit and vegetable juice and more.

The all-day dining restaurant will offer Mediterranean themed buffet lunch and dinner. Some of the highlights offered during lunch and dinner will be cold buffet and monthly theme appetizers, freshly cooked Chef creation, authentic pasta dishes, hot Mediterranean flavored buffet, fish and meat market, where you can make your own choice and the Chefs will cook a la minute from the grill station, carving station, and Dulcis in Fundo enthusiastic and colorful dessert.

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Thursday, August 9, 2018

Health

International

Experts question benefits of fluoridefree toothpaste

BIRMINGHAM - Dental health experts worry that more people are using toothpaste that skips the most important ingredient — fluoride — and leaves them at a greater risk of cavities.

Most toothpastes already contain fluoride. While health authorities recognize fluoride as a cavity blocker, the internet is dotted with claims, often from “natural” toothpaste marketers and advocates for alternative medicine, that fluoride-free toothpaste also prevents cavities.

Dental authorities disagree.

“It’s really important to debunk this idea that brushing your teeth stops decay. You need to have the fluoride,” said Damien Walmsley, a scientific adviser to the British Dental Association and a dentistry professor at the University of Birmingham in England.

That view was underscored this week by an article in the dental journal Gerodontology that reviewed the scientific literature on cavities. Its primary conclusion is that without fluoride, oral hygiene efforts have “no impact” on cavity rates.

The idea that brushing teeth alone will not stop cavities has largely been accepted among individual researchers for decades, but not always by the public.

Dentists generally recommend fluoride for cavity fighting, but even some of them continue to believe that the mechanics of wiping your teeth clean of plaque also reduces cavities. The review findings, published Monday, gave pause to at least one of them.

“It violates certain principles we’ve been taught and that we teach and that we believe,” said Richard Niederman, a dentist and professor at New York University who saw an advance copy of the study and

found the findings credible. “What it says to me is that the toothbrush is just a delivery system.”

Few studies of the question have been carried out in recent years because the value of fluoride has been widely accepted for decades. In the review, University of Washington researchers looked for high-quality studies since 1950 and found just three. They were carried out in the U.S. and Great Britain and published from 1977 to 1981. They involved a total of 743 children aged 10 to 13 years who flossed and brushed for up to three years.

When the studies were evaluated statistically as a whole, there was no significant cavity reduction from simply brushing or flossing without fluoride.

Dentist J. Leslie Winston, oral care director for Crest toothpaste maker Procter & Gamble, said the review “serves as an important reminder.”

“Despite a large body of scientific evidence, there are growing numbers of consumers who believe that all toothpastes are the same and that as long as you clean your teeth effectively with a toothbrush or other device which cleans in-between the teeth, you can prevent decay,” he said in a statement.

The market share for fluoride-free toothpaste is closely held company data. Industry sources estimate it at no more than 5 percent of all toothpaste sold, but with projected growth of over 5 percent annually. On Monday, Tom’s of Maine antiplaque and whitening toothpaste, which is fluoride-free, was listed as the second-best-selling toothpaste on Amazon’s online buying platform.

Paul Jessen, a brand manager at Tom’s of Maine, said its fluoride-free products don’t promise to fight cavities. He said his company’s customers generally understand this. (afp)

IBP/net

Dental health experts worry that more people are using toothpaste that skips the most important ingredient — fluoride — and leaves them at a greater risk of cavities.

Bali News

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

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Looking at harvesting troupe

Giving birth to harmonization from a paddy field IBP/net

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified genetic mutations associated with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that generally requires extensive chemotherapy and and has lower five-year survival rates than other forms of breast cancer.

Genes linked to aggressive breast cancer identified

PEOPLE at risk of a tough-totreat, deadly form of breast cancer may now have a better chance of early diagnosis and protection against relapse.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified genetic mutations associated with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that generally requires extensive chemotherapy and and has lower five-year survival rates than other forms of breast cancer, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

“This study is the first to establish which genes are associated with high lifetime risks of triplenegative breast cancer,” said lead author and Mayo Clinic geneticist Dr. Fergus Couch.

The researchers analyzed genetic panels of almost 11,000 patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Five genetic mutations, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 and RAD51D, were linked to a high risk of triple-negative and a 20 percent lifetime risk of any breast cancer. Two other genes were tied to a more moderate risk of triple-negative.

Previous studies have found some of these genetic variants in triple-negative breast cancer patients but the new research establishes the connection in greater detail and identifies two genes linked to triple-negative, RAD51D and BARD1, which were previously thought only to be associated with ovarian cancer, Couch said.

With the new findings, patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer will be able to screen for the associated genes, which may indicate how likely the disease is to recur. If the gene mutations are found, patients would qualify for additional monitoring through MRI

and mammography, alternating each one every six months, according to Couch.

Dr. Sandra Swain, who specializes in cancer and genomics research at Georgetown University Medical Center, called the study results significant.

“Triple-negative is hard to treat and has low survival rates, especially in a recurrence,” Swain, who was not part of the study, told NBC News. “It’s really exciting discovering more and more genes that can help with treatment.”

However, beyond women or men who have been diagnosed with triple-negative, it’s undetermined who should be screened for the genetic mutations, Swain said. Over 30 percent of the triple negative patients in the study had no family history of breast cancer and other risk factors aren’t well understood.

“Unless we start testing everyone for these genes, it’s unclear how we can effectively screen for first-time cases,” Swain said.

Triple-negative accounts for 15-20 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses. Black women are more than twice as likely to develop this aggressive form than white women.

The study found the same prevalence of problematic genes in both groups. Black women, however, were only about 12 percent of the patients in the study.

“Why this is more common in African-American women is something of a mystery,” Couch told NBC News.

But, for now, a crucial piece of the puzzle is in place.

“Some of these genes showed up on genetic panels, and doctors didn’t know what to do with them,” Couch said. “Now, they won’t be ignored, and patients will benefit.” (net)

HARVESTING troupe (sekaa manyi) remains to survive in Klungkung district even though the agricultural technology has developed rapidly. The troupe consisting of women has its own story. What is that like?

Paddy at Subak Lepang, Takmung village, Banjarangkan, Klungkung, thrives. The leaves are still green, but the grains have turned yellow and very low indicating to have a good quality. They are swaying as blown by strong sea breezes.

A number of people come to approach in conical bamboo hat. Complete with shocks in legs, long-sleeved shirts and pants, they are ready to harvest.

Starting from the edge, armed with rice knife, each clump of the rice is cut. Half of the stalk is left and only taken from the base of the leaf. Their hands move fast. When the grip has been full, it is gathered together and then put into threshing machine. The leaves and grains come out separately.

There is something attractive about their activities. They do not continuously focus on cutting rice but also interspersed with chatting about various topics. Every now and then, they laugh as well. A harmonization can emerge from plot of paddy field. Apparently, they have forgotten the ever-stinging sunshine and the itching caused by grass.

One of the rice harvesters is Made Sarniti who is happy to share her story. She has been getting involved in this job for nine years when her first child was small. “I have been doing this for a long time. Previously, I wove shawls,” she said recently.

She departs to paddy field around 8:00 in the morning simultaneously with other members. In the afternoon, around 17:00, she just returns home. Fatigue is definitely felt especially when the harvest location is far from highway as having to carry the rice so far. “Luckily, there has been a machine to thresh. So, it is made much easier. In the past, when using manual tools, we were more tired,” she said.

This work is not carried out every day but adjusted to harvest season. She is not confused to think about whose paddy field to go and only follows the request of middlemen.

“We just wait for the information,” said this brown-skinned woman.

The wages earned are not calculated daily but based on the amount of harvest. For one ton of rice, the wage is in the range IDR 650,000. This amount is not intended for single worker but must be divided by six to seven other people.

“It’s enough to add to our needs at home,” she explained. She also admitted to join this troupe in order to get friends to chat with. Various stories can be shared. “At home, we have no

one to chat with. So, here I can share with others,” she added.

Another story was expressed by Wayan Tlabah. This wrinkle-skinned man said to participate in many harvesting works in order to get additional income as farmer other than filling in his spare time. “Right now, my own paddy has not been harvested yet. So, I come here to get additional income.

It’s been a long time,” he said.

He also recounted that his rice harvest is not enough for living supplies. Every harvest season he can only get IDR 1 million after waiting for three months. If the weather is bad, crop failure often haunts. “It’s difficult to be a farmer now,” he concluded. (sos)

IBP/sos

Harvesting troupe (sekaa manyi) remains to survive in Klungkung district even though the agricultural technology has developed rapidly.

Create funding schemes for documentary films

MANGUPURA — The Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), In-Docs and Go-Jek created the first funding scheme for documentary films in Indonesia. This year, through the Docs By The Sea event they will facilitate a new form of funding for documentary films which have never existed before.

Head of Legal and Public Communication Bureau of the Bekraf, Mariaman Purba, said the first funding scheme for documentary films is named Docs By The Sea Co-Production Fund. This funding is aimed to encourage the creation of quality documentary films through mentorship program, distribution schemes and funding. At the Docs By The Sea 2018, a total of 20 Indonesian documentary projects will compete to get funding, where the selection process will take place in Bali on August 7 – 9, 2018.

In the Docs By The Sea 2018 program, 31 documentary projects from Southeast Asia and one project from Australia will take part in a four-day incubation program. It is resumed with pitching forum and other industrial activities for three days. A total of 31 selected films will be presented to 35 donor agencies, television networks, distributors, and world platforms that need documentary films.

Directress of the In-Docs Program, Amelia Hapsari, said that In-Docs is a global forum connecting Indonesian and Southeast Asian documentary filmmakers to international documentary industry and investors.

In documentary film both in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, he is confident the establishment of strategic partnerships is the key. “Our strategy is to build strategic partnerships with industry experts and international institutions having the

same determination and vision in supporting the best stories that represent diverse perspectives to open up insight and inspire people,” she said.

Docs By The Sea is strengthened by the existence of strategic partnerships from all over the world. Together with the Tribeca Film Institute from the United States, Docs By The Sea also hosts the IF / Then program to support short documentaries. This program will provide funding and distribution support for four winning films. In addition to funding that will be provided by In-Docs and Tribeca Film Institute, Al-Jazeera will also select a winner whose film will be produced by this giant news network.

Strategic partnerships created through the Docs By The Sea program have a big impact, not only for Indonesia’s creative industry, but also for the wider community. (kmb42)

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Bali News

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Hit by drought

Despair as crippling drought hammers Australian farmers

Residents of some villages forced to buy clean water

BANGLI - Residents at a number of villages in Kintamani began to face clean water difficulties in the past month. This happens due to the arrival of dry season. To meet the needs of clean water, they are forced to buy it from merchant at quite expensive price up to hundreds of thousands of rupiahs. It is done because the supply of rainwater in the cistern owned by residents has run thin.

Luh Tuti Wulandari, a resident of Bubung hamlet, Abang Batudinding, Kintamani, for instance, when met at her home on Tuesday (Aug. 7) claimed to have started buying clean water since the last month. She is forced to buy water for cooking and bathing needs because the rainwater supply previously accommodated in the cistern has been running thin and insufficient.

She admitted the price of clean water purchased is quite expensive, namely IDR 250,000 per four large barrels. Normally, the water she buys is enough to meet the needs for 15 days. “If used efficiently, the water can be used for more than 15 days,” she said.

She admitted that other residents also do the same thing. To get clean water in the area of Bubung hamlet, she said there is actually a spring that can be taken advantage by the

residents but the discharge is very small. To get one bucket of water, people must wait for up to an hour.

In addition, they must be patiently waiting in line with others. Other than for cooking and toilet needs, people also ordinarily buy water for livestock needs. “Here, people are used to buying water during dry season,” he added.

Other than Tuti, the difficulty to get clean water during dry season is also experienced by the operator of Abang Erawang tourist attraction.

A local officer, Nyoman Toko, said that his management has difficulty to get clean water to meet the toilet needs. To fulfill the needs for two days, it needs clean water up to two tanks. He must spend adequate money to buy water so it has an effect on the income earned. “A lot of funds are disbursed to meet the needs of clean water for tourists,” he said. (kmb40)

Mohd RASFAN / AFP

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak (C) leaves Duta court complex in Kuala Lumpur on August 8, 2018.

IBP/kmb

Residents at a number of villages in Kintamani began to face clean water difficulties in the past month.

Traditional regatta on Kerobokan Beach

SINGARAJA - A total of 70 participants representing fishermen groups from five sub-districts in Buleleng took part in the

traditional regatta on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

This regatta is one of the activities having become a fixed agenda to celebrate the 73rd

IBP/kmb38

Dozens of traditional boats (jukung) competed from Kerobokan Beach, Sawan and ended on Bina Ria Beach, Lovina.

anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia’s Independence Day 2018. Dozens of traditional boats (jukung) competed from Kerobokan Beach, Sawan and ended on Bina Ria Beach, Lovina.

It is not just looking for the fastest boat, but also meant to instill a maritime spirit among younger generations of Buleleng.

Moreover, the sea retains a great potential other than agriculture in the broader sense which becomes a mainstay of North Bali. For this reason, the competition is organized, so that fishermen or all the community components can jointly maintain the preservation and cleanliness of the beach.

Deputy Regent of Buleleng, Nyoman Sutjidra, after opening the traditional regatta stated the beach in the region is the longest in Bali so it offers a great potential for community welfare. This great potential must be continuously explored, especially in attracting young people to manage and develop the potential of North Bali. One of the efforts is by introducing the maritime potential of Buleleng through traditional regatta regularly held every year.

“We must take advantage of it properly for our young generation in the future, and competition like this is a part to instill a maritime spirit among young people because the sea has a great potential that can be managed for

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our mutual prosperity,” he explained.

Head of the Buleleng Fisheries Agency, Ni Made Arnika, said that 70 participants took part in the traditional regatta consisting of fishermen groups in Sawan, Buleleng, Banjar, Seririt subdistrict and representatives of fishermen groups in Gerokgak subdistrict.

After participating in the regatta, the participant number 044 on behalf of Saiful Rahman with Rahmat Hidayat from the Sinar Bahari Fishermen Group of Banjar subdistrict became the fastest participant with a time record of 1:53:00. Both received trophy, certificates and cash worth IDR 6 million.

Nursalim teaming up with Aziz from Satria Samudra fisherman group, Sawan subdistrict, won the second place. Both of them took 1:53:07 to finish line, while the Bhineka Bahari fishermen group from Sawan subdistrict on behalf of Sadikin and Sudirja came out as the third winner with a time record of 1:55:41. The second and third participants received trophies, certificates and cash respectively IDR 5 million and IDR 4 million.

Aside from traditional regatta, the event was also jazzed up with catching duck competition. A total of 50 ducks were released at the finish location, so that they could entertain the audience in the Bina Ria Lovina Beach area. (kmb38)

Malaysian ex-PM Najib charged with money-laundering

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges Wednesday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May. Appearing at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from a former unit of scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. These are in addition to the charges he faced last month after he was first arrested -- three for criminal breach of trust and a separate count that he abused his position to take the money.

The 65-year-old, who is free on bail, has denied all the charges.

Malaysia’s new government is probing allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, which was set up and overseen by Najib, in an audacious fraud that spanned the globe.

Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the electoral earthquake in May that toppled Najib’s long-ruling

coalition and ushered in a reformist alliance headed by his 93year-old former mentor Mahathir Mohamad.

In a packed courtroom, the three new charges were read out to Najib. Asked if he understood them, Najib -- dressed in a dark blue suit and looking tired -- said he did.

His case was transferred to another court, where he entered not guilty pleas, meaning he will stand trial. Trial dates will be fixed on Friday, the judge said.

- ‘Long live Najib’ As he left court, a handful of supporters shouted “long live Najib” while his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the toppled leader believed the case was driven by politics.

“I am confident of a fair trial for my client, but my client thinks

this is a political prosecution,” he told reporters.

Najib is facing a long time behind bars if found guilty -the money-laundering charges carry maximum jail terms of 15 years each, while the other four charges carry sentences of 20 years each.

The money-laundering charges allege 42 million ringgit stemming from illegal activities was transferred to Najib’s bank accounts between December 2014 and February 2015.

All the charges relate to fund transfers from SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB. The sums involved are just a fraction of the $681 million that was mysteriously transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts several years ago, sparking uproar in Malaysia. (afp)

MURRURUNDI - A crippling drought is ravaging vast tracts of Australia’s pastoral heartlands, decimating herds and putting desperate farmers under intense financial and emotional strain, with little relief in sight.

While the country is no stranger to “big drys” and its people have long had a reputation as resilient, the extreme conditions across swathes of Australia’s east are the worst in more than 50 years.

A smattering of rain earlier this week did little to ease one of the driest starts to the year on record, turning pastures to dust and destroying huge areas of grazing and crop lands.

With no feed, farmers have been forced to ship in grain or hay from other parts of the country to keep sheep and cattle alive, spending thousands of extra dollars a week just to stay afloat.

Some exhausted graziers spend hours each day hand-feeding their stock because the ground is too dry for grass to grow. Others have been forced to shoot starving cattle.

“They are shooting their stock because they don’t want them to suffer. They are shooting them because they just can’t afford to feed them anymore,” Tash Johnston, cofounder of charity Drought Angels, told AFP. Farmers have also had to ration water for their families and their herds because the dams on their properties are dry or nearly empty. Many face the prospect of abandoning their homes altogether -- some after being on the land for generations.

It is a scenario repeated across New South Wales state, where agriculture contributes more than

Aus$15 billion (US$11 billion) to the state’s economy annually, employing more than 77,000 people.

Authorities on Wednesday officially declared the entire state in drought.

Conditions are similarly dire in Queensland to the north, where the state government says nearly 60 percent of land is suffering drought conditions.

“This would be the first time in two generations, back to the 1930s, that we haven’t got a crop up in the autumn or winter time,” Greg Stones, who runs a small farm of cattle, sheep, grain and crops near drought-hit Gunnedah, a five-hour drive north of Sydney, told AFP. “The land is too dry... We’ve put cattle on the highway (near the farm) for the first time in my life (so) they get a bit of rough grass.”

With farmers facing ruin, the national government stepped in last weekend, pledging a Aus$190 million package of immediate relief measures.

It includes two lump sum payments worth up to Aus$12,000 per household, and changes to an assets test to grant support to thousands more farmers.

There was also cash for counselling and mental health services, with drought-related stress and even suicide a mounting concern, compounded by the isolation many feel on their remote properties.

“We are the land of droughts and flooding rains. We recognise that. It’s a very volatile and often capricious climate and Australian farmers are resilient, they plan for drought, they are good managers but it can become really overwhelming,” said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (afp)

SAEED KHAN / AFP

This photo taken on August 7, 2018 shows sheep grazing on a dry paddock in the drought-hit area of Duri in New South Wales. A crippling drought is ravaging parts of Australia, decimating herds and putting desperate farmers under intense financial and emotional strain, with little relief in sight.

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International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

BUSINESS

Bali News

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Wayang Lemah to Conquer the Times

Day puppet or wayang lemah performance is considered sacred and usually staged during the day and always associated with the execution of religious ceremony. Puppet performance can only be staged by puppeteers who have undergone spiritual initiation through ceremony.

US trade deficit widens by $46.3 billion in June

WA S H I N G TO N - T h e U.S. trade deficit widened in June for the first time in four months as exports fell and imports grew. Politically sensitive trade gaps with China, Mexico and Canada all increased.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the deficit in goods and services — the gap between what the US sells and what it buys from other countries — rose 7.3 percent to $46.3 billion in June from $43.2 billion in May. U.S. exports slid 0.7 percent to $213.8 billion; imports rose 0.6 percent to $260.2 billion, led by increases in medicine and crude oil.

The United States ran goods deficits in June of $33.5 billion with China, up 0.9 percent from May; $7.4 billion with Mexico, up 10.5 percent; and $2 billion with Canada, up 39.7 percent.

In the first half of the year, the United States has registered a trade deficit in goods and services of $291.2 billion, up 7.2 percent from January-June 2017.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down the gap, which he views as a sign of economic weakness resulting from bad trade deals and abusive behavior by U.S. trading partners like China and Mexico.

In a flurry of activity this year, he has slapped taxes on imported steel and aluminum and on $34 billion in Chinese products. He has threatened to dramatically increase the tariffs on China and to begin taxing imported cars, trucks and auto parts. He also is attempting to renegotiate the North American Free Trade

IBP/kmb

Entil, a Tempting Tiny Serving

AP Photo/Ben Margot, File

In this Dec. 13, 2017 file photo, a container ship is unloaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif. The U.S. trade deficit widened in June 2018 for the first time in four months as exports fell and imports grew. Politically sensitive trade gaps with China, Mexico and Canada all increased.

Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

But his efforts have so far failed to contain the deficit.

“The president promised a transformation of trade policy to bring

down the deficit,” said Lori Wallach, director of the left-leaning Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Trump, she said, “has not lived up to his promises.”

Mainstream economists blame

persistent U.S. trade deficits on an economic reality that can’t be changed much by trade policy: Americans spend more than they produce, and imports fill the gap.

In June, the United States posted a surplus of $22.5 billion in the trade of services such as banking and education. But that was offset by a $68.8 billion deficit in the trade of goods. (ap)

limits according to international standards,” at 36.8 percent.

Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy after the years of unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The government secured a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2016 for an economic reform program that included slashing fuel and electricity

subsidies, imposing a value-added tax and floating the currency. Foreign debt stood at $67.3 billion in December 2016.

Egypt recently introduced a new wave of price hikes for fuel, drinking water and electricity, as well as for new cellular phone lines and cellphone bills. Prices for issuing passports and car licenses also went up steeply.

The austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on poor and middle-class Egyptians.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who was re-elected earlier this year in a vote in which all potentially serious rivals were arrested or withdrew under pressure, has repeatedly called on Egyptians to be patient, saying the long-overdue reforms will pay off with time. Last month, Prime

Minister Mustafa Madbouly said Egyptians should start benefiting from the reform program within two years. The IMF praised the reforms in May, pointing to the country’s 5.2 percent growth rate, a percentage point higher than the previous year.

Egypt says its foreign reserves have increased to $44 billion as of May, the highest level since before the 2011 uprising. (ap)

Egypt’s foreign debt up more than 10 percent from last year CAIRO - Egypt’s foreign debt has climbed more than 10 percent in less than a year, reaching $88.2 billion in March, the central bank said Monday, despite a raft of painful austerity measures aimed at cutting government spending.

Foreign debt is 11.6 percent higher than in June of last year, but the central bank said the debt to GPD ratio is still within “safe

5

Have you ever tasted entil? This Balinese traditional serving resembles lontong and looks simple, but has a tempting flavor. It is flat of four rectangular like a pillow and has a green color because it is wrapped in bamboo leaves (telengidi). It offers very distinctive aroma, so that it can arouse the appetite. Eat entil is enough with chili (Balinese complete seasoning and shrimp paste condiment). However, it will be better when enjoyed with urap vegetables.

Entil is wrapped with bamboo leaves that can make entil taste more delicious. Green color of bamboo leaves seep into the rice when cooked, resulting in a greenish color. Indeed, the making of this serving takes a long time, especially when boiling. The longer boils this entil, the longer it will last and not quickly turn stale.

Entil is famous in the area of Pupuan, while it is also made at Tengkudak, Penebel, Tabanan district.

Moreover, this simple traditional food can be easily found in traditional stalls at villages. It also often becomes a menu of culinary events in the festival held by the government of Tabanan. At Tanah Lot Kreatifood Festival, for instance, this menu is favored by visitors.

The serving includes a pack of entil, and then it is sprinkled with coconut sauce and fried condiment.

Alternatively, it can be mixed with Balinese urap vegetable with sprouts, sliced ??spinach and cuts of long beans mixed with spices.

For old people or those having no

strong teeth, this entil is usually mixed with gravy and seasoning.

“We used to make entil for sale,” said Ni Nyoman Sutiani, 63, the entil maker from Denuma hamlet, Tengkudak, Penebel.

Sutiani admitted the profession to make entil has been pursued since childhood. Initially, she helped her parents and then became the next heir. “Entil has existed for a long time and no one knows for sure when and where it started.

We make this entil from generation to generation until now. Entil remains to have a lot of demand,” said Sutiani.

According to Sutiani, entil is usually presented on particular days, such as Nyepi or Day of Silence where the Hindus perform catur brata penyepian or four abstinences where people will not turn or light fire, not work, not travel and not enjoy any entertainment, so food stock is needed. On that account, entil is chosen because it is durable and not easily stale. “Now, entil is widely sold in traditional markets and stalls, like what I do,” she said.

Entil is made from rice and grated coconut and then wrapped in bamboo leaves tied with rope.

In the past, people used bamboo or coconut bark ropes, but now many people prefer to use plastic ropes. Meanwhile, the seasoning in use includes base genep (complete seasoning), such as onion, garlic, chili, ginger, turmeric, aromatic ginger, galangal and other spices. It is also coupled with grated coconut to make urap seasoning. (kmb)

This puppet show is without using a screen and blencong oil lamp. In playing the puppet, the puppeteer leans the puppets on a white thread of about half to one meter tied to an erythrina wooden stick placed on a banana trunk on both sides of the puppeteer. The gamelan accompaniment is a gender puppet with a five-tone scale. Puppet show of this ceremony is very dependent on the time of the implementation of the religious ceremonies to be followed.

Supporting artists of this show are at least 3 to 5 people consisting of a puppeteer and one or two pairs of gender gamelan players. As ritual arts, the day puppet show usually takes place around the venue of ceremony without using a special stage.

The storyline is adapted to the ceremony performed. If the staging is performed in Deva Yadnya, the play will feature Kunti Yadnya, Marisuda Bumi and others. Meanwhile, at the bhuta yadnya ceremony, the play will feature Bima Dadi Caru and so do the other ceremonies. They must be adjusted to the type of ceremony taking place. The plays are generally derived from the Mahabharata story. (kmb)

Ngerebeg, Offering to Share Fruits with Monkeys at Alas Kedaton Gamelan composition of bleganjur sounded so melodious. The traditional artists of this village played gamelan instrument accompanying the rows of housewives dressed in customary attires while upholding gebogan fruit arrangement and smiling sincerely. A flock of monkeys, the local forest dwellers, were jokingly and jubilantly hopping over lush branches. They seemed to know that the gebogan procession was a happy day filled with joy of sharing fruits.

It is the description of ritual procession for monkeys at Alas Kedaton tourist attraction, Kukuh, Marga, Tabanan, on Saniscara Kliwon Uye took place lively, Saturday (Jan. 20). It has become a tradition that every thanksgiving ritual of monkeys was filled with procession of ngrebeg gebogan (parade of fruit arrangement) as high as 2 meters. “We always carry out the procession every day Tumpek Kandang or Tumpek Uye,” said Secretary of Kukuh customary village, I Gusti Ngurah Pujayasa.

Pujayasa said that thanksgiving ritual at Alas Kedaton also becomes a moment to teach children to love animals. It happened because many residents came to witness the parade of fruit arrangement while taking their children, then gave food to the flock of monkeys. “The celebration of Tumpek Kandang is one of the applications of the Tri Hita Karana teachings in the matter of Palemahan or environmental aspect that maintains harmonious relationship with animals.

Coordinator of Alas Kedaton attraction, Kukuh customary village with the management board of Alas Kedaton and merchant group regularly holds thanksgiving ritual for the monkeys. However, since one and a half year ago a new tradition of ngrebeg gebogan of two-meter high was held. “Tumpek Uye today is the third time for implementing gebogan parade. This serves as a form of our gratitude for the welfare graced by God. Expression of our gratitude to monkeys and fruit bats of Alas Kedaton through a parade can attract tourists,” said Pujayasa.

In this ceremony, the merchant group of Alas Kedaton also contributed 22 pieces of gebogan of small size. Both fruit gebogan offerings of the management board and merchant group of Alas Kedaton contain local fruits such as red guava, tomatoes, corn, carrots, bananas, rambutan, papaya, mango and beans.

Before the parade, it was commenced with thanksgiving ritual in

the middle courtyard of Alas Kedaton Temple. After that, it was resumed with praying together, and presented fruit gebogan before God Almighty.

After the prayers, it was continued with parading the gebogan in the middle courtyard of Kahyangan Kedaton Temple and in the outermost courtyard. Ultimately, the gebogan was placed in the outermost courtyard.

A flock of monkeys then approached and picked up the fruits presented by the people of Kukuh.

People coming with their children took the fruit and distributed it to the flock of monkeys. The fruits were directly invaded by monkeys. They looked tame. After getting the fruits, the monkeys jumped into the tree, while another flock came forward to pick up the fruits. The beautiful moments when people were besieged by monkeys became the target of camera of photographers, including tourists. They were happy to capture the moment of tame monkeys at Alas Kedaton. (kmb)

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Thursday, August 9, 2018

W

International

RLD

In Venezuela’s hospitals, eat at your own risk

CARACAS - Hardly anybody likes hospital food but in Venezuela, it’s so awful -- monotonous, starchy diets cooked in filthy conditions, and newborns fed intravenous solution for lack of baby formula -- that experts call it an actual health risk.

Take Carla Lopez, 40, who has been hospitalized for three months to treat open wounds on her foot as a result of diabetes.

Lopez should go easy on pasta and rice -- but that’s all she gets.

“I eat whatever they give me,” Lopez said as she waves away flies buzzing over a plate of rice and lentils at University Hospital in Caracas. It is pretty flavorless stuff as the hospital is out of salt.

An excess of starch causes her blood sugar levels to shoot up.

Even if she were out of the hospital, she could not afford, say, a kilo (2.2 pounds) of chicken, which costs 1.5 times her monthly salary in this oil-rich but economically ravaged country saddled with runaway inflation.

Lopez says that for breakfast, she gets a kind of cornmeal patty known here as an arepa, and for lunch, it’s either pasta or lentils with rice.

“In the evening, they serve you another arepa -- a small, skimpy one,” said Lopez.

Back in better times, this hospital used to have different cooks for different medical problems, said nutritionist Gladys Abreu.

Now, everybody gets the same fare, and not much of it: 40 grams of rice and 25 grams of legumes.

“That is hardly enough for a small child,” said one staffer in the hospital kitchen.

Another hospital employee who asked not to be named complained that garbage piles up at the facility, an imposing 11-story building that is 60 years old.

Indeed, a nearby trash bin overflows with detritus.

The National Hospital Survey, published in March by the opposition-controlled National Assembly and by an NGO called Doctors for Health, said 96 percent of Venezuela’s hospitals fail to feed their patients adequately, or do not feed them at all.

The poll covered 104 state-run hospitals and 33 private ones.

- Intravenous solution as milk -

At the Concepcion Palacios maternity clinic, also in Caracas, doctors stopped providing formula for newborns because there was no money for it.

Parents can provide their own, but one mother, Yereercis Olivar, who just gave birth to her second child, cannot afford formula.

She could not nurse the baby, either, because they were separated to protect the child from the chicken pox that Olivar came down with while pregnant. It has left her skin covered in blisters.

Olivar was desperate, so she started trying to extract milk from her breasts with a syringe.

It took three days for that excruciating method to kick in and provide milk.

During that time, the baby lived “only on serum” -- the kind used in intravenous solutions to keep adults hydrated. It was fed to the child from a baby bottle. (afp)

Juan BARRETO / AFP

A woman gestures at a room of the University Hospital in Caracas on July 19, 2018. Rice, grains or pasta is the only diet for patients in the University Hospital in Caracas.

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

11

Death toll in Lombok quake hits 131, more than 156,000 displaced

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

A firefighter monitors a back fire while battling the Medocino Complex fire on August 7, 2018 near Lodoga, California.

California scorched by raging wildfires the size of LA

MENDOCINO - Thousands of firefighters battled relentless flames ripping across California on Wednesday, as the death toll from a series of infernos that erupted last month hit 11.

The raging Mendocino Complex fire comprising twin blazes in the state’s north has now ravaged almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) -- approximately the size of sprawling Los Angeles -- in less than two weeks, becoming California’s largest wildfire since recordkeeping began a century ago.

Some 14,000 firefighters, including reinforcements from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, are combating the firestorm which remains just 34 percent contained.

The River Fire of the Mendocino Complex is 78 percent contained, having burned 48,920 acres. But its partner blaze the Ranch Fire has grown to 243,772 acres and is just 20 percent contained.

“Still a lot of work to do,” said Charlie Blankenheim, a chief of fire fighting operations. “But we have got a plan for all of it, we think that in a day or two we are going to have some success and start to wrap this up.”

Limited access, heavy fuel loads, low fuel moisture and high temperatures were all impeding firefighters’ efforts to rein in the conflagration, the state’s CalFire authority said.

Overall, the Mendocino Complex fire has destroyed at least 143 structures, 75 of them residences.

More than 11,000 other structures are threatened, according to CalFire.

The Ranch fire, which poses

the biggest challenge, has swept across natural barriers like rivers, and a ditch dug with earth-moving machinery.

Helicopters and airplanes, including two massive DC-10s and a 747 jumbo jet, were supporting firefighters by dousing the flames with water.

Two people have died in that inferno alone, taking to 11 the number of people killed by major fires that are becoming something of a constant in the state.

The Carr Fire to the north has meanwhile engulfed 167,113 acres since igniting July 23, killing seven people so far.

Firefighters have managed to get it 47 percent contained, challenged by varying wind patterns and rough terrain that includes steep drainages. At one point, it even whipped up a tornado of orange flame.

Another major fire, Ferguson, has left two people dead and forced the closure of part of the Yosemite National Park. It is currently only 38 percent contained.

Several thousand people have been evacuated, although some have been given permission in recent days to return home.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week is for more hot, dry weather of the kind that helps fires spread.

The Mendocino Complex is the second fire to break records in California in as many years, following the Thomas Fire in December 2017 that destroyed 281,893 acres.

“This is part of a trend -- a new normal -- that we got to deal with,” Governor Jerry Brown told journalists of the “horrific” wildfires. (afp)

The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said Wednesday, with some 156,000 forced from their homes. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake triggered panic among locals and tourists on Lombok on Sunday, just a week after another tremor surged through the holiday island and killed 17.

Around 1,477 people have been severely injured in the latest quake, with tens of thousands of homes damaged, and authorities have appealed for more medical personnel and basic supplies.

“We estimate the death toll of 131 will keep rising,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Workers with heavy machinery resumed searching through the rubble of homes, schools and mosques Wednesday, with hope of finding any survivors fading. Muhammad Zainul Majdi, the governor of West Nusa Tenggara province which covers Lombok, said there was a dire need for medical staff, food and medicine in the worst-hit areas.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims have been treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other badly affected areas.

“We have limited human resources. Some paramedics have to be at the shelters, some need to be mobile,” Majdi told AFP. “The scale of this quake is massive for us here in West Nusa Tenggara, this is our first experience.”

Some evacuees are grappling with the traumatic scenes of death and destruction that accompanied the quake.

“I saw my neighbour get stuck in the rubble and die. He asked me for help, but I couldn’t help him, we just ran to help ourselves,” Johriah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP tearfully.

The Indonesian Red Cross said it had set up 10 mobile clinics in the north of the island and a field hospital had been established near an evacuation centre catering to more than 500 people in the village of Tanjung.

Kurniawan Eko Wibowo, a doctor at the field hospital, said most patients were suffering broken bones and head injuries.

“We lack the infrastructure to perform operations because (they) need to be performed in a sterile place,” Wibowo told AFP. - ‘Destruction almost 100 percent’ -

Across much of the island, once-bustling villages have

been turned into virtual ghost towns.

“In some villages we visited the destruction was almost 100 percent, all houses collapsed, roads are cracked and bridges were broken,” said Arifin Muhammad Hadi, a spokesman for the Indonesian Red Cross.

Makeshift encampments have popped up on the side of roads and rice fields, with many farmers reluctant to move far from their damaged homes and leave precious livestock behind.

“It’s typical of earthquake victims in Indonesia, they want to stay close to their livelihood, they can’t bring their livestock to the shelters,” Hadi said.

Local authorities, international relief groups and the central government have begun organising aid, but shat-

tered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of Lombok, which was hardest hit.

The Indonesian military said that three Hercules transporter planes packed with much-needed food, medication, blankets, tents and water tanks have now arrived in Lombok.

But some evacuees have complained of being ignored or of experiencing long delays for supplies to arrive at shelters.

“There has been no help at all here,” said 36-year-old Multazam, who was staying with hundreds of others under tarpaulins on a dry paddy field outside West Pemenang village. “We have no clean water, so if we want to go to the toilet we use a small river nearby,” he said, adding they needed food, bedding and medicine. (afp)

ADEK BERRY / AFP

Search and rescue personnel look for victims in the rubble of a mosque in Pemenang, northern Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province on August 8, 2018, three days after the area was struck by an earthquake. The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said August 8, with some 156,000 forced from their homes.

Indonesian shaman arrested for keeping sex slave for 15 years An Indonesian shaman has been arrested for keeping an abducted teenager as a sex slave for 15 years by claiming he was possessed by the spirit of her imaginary boyfriend, police said Wednesday.

The distressed woman, who is now aged 28, was found naked by police on Sunday in a jungle cave near the village of Bajungan in Central Sulawesi province.

She was reported missing by her family in 2003, when she was 13, after visiting the shaman for treatment of an illness.

The victim’s father spent years searching for his daughter. But police said the shaman, whose son is married to the victim’s sister, had told the family the girl had gone far away and would not return.

“Every day, for many years, the shaman had sex with her under the pretence he was possessed by a male spirit,” local

police chief Iqbal Alqudusy told AFP on Wednesday.

The 83-year-old shaman, identified as Jago, tricked the woman into believing the spirit of a young man named Amrin lived inside him, Alqudusy said. The victim was convinced Amrin was her boyfriend.

The shaman is alleged to have hidden the woman in the cave during the day and to have had sex with her in a nearby hut at night.

Police rescued the woman, who is currently at a safe house, after receiving a tip-off from a family member. “She is very disoriented, she’s scared of people and keeps wanting to go back to the cave,” Alqudusy said, adding she would undergo therapy.

The shaman faces 15 years in prison for allegedly having sex with a minor. His family members are also being investigated for failing to inform police.

In a police video obtained by AFP, the shaman admitted he forced the victim to have an abortion when he found out she was pregnant. He said she was given a herbal concoction and miscarried a few days later. She then threw the foetus in a river.

The cave has now become a tourist attraction, with curious locals flocking to the site and vendors selling snacks. Indonesia is a mainly Muslim country but superstitious practices are still widespread.

People often turn to shamans, practitioners seen as having influence in the spirit world, and the paranormal to treat illnesses or to consult on everyday life.

Authorities have introduced a law to ban black magic, with violators facing up to three months in jail or a fine of 450,000 rupiah ($41). (afp)

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Destination

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Magic to host Bulls, Jazz in NBA Mexico City games

SKAI Beach Club SKAI Beach Club at Padma Resort Legian in Bali is the resort’s main beachfront venue, where you can take in the stunning sunset moments over the Legian surf from various cosy lounging spots indoors and out on a semi-al fresco terrace and while soaking in an infinity pool.

Aptly, its name is a playful acronym of ‘sunset, kocktail, al fresco and indulgence’. SKAI adds to the small number of beach club lounging options on Legian Beach. Returning guests to Padma Resort will find

SKAI Beach Club as the amazingly refreshing result of a total revamp from Padma’s former Bella Rosa Italian restaurant, where you can now enjoy a refined chill-out venue with signature cocktails served from a strikingly designed bar composed of a criss-cross woody trellis and latticework, and with light bites from an all-day dining menu.

Great views at any time of the day are assured by its beachfront location. Nonetheless, the best time to go is surely at sunset. For this,

you should head for the fully al fresco area, where rectangular white terrazzo pods with bright blue, yellow and green cushions make for great gathering spots with friends.

Couples will find a cosy and more intimate option at the semi-al fresco lounges, featuring comfy sofas and a wooden panel backdrop with murals of Balinese Legong dancers.

Best still, for a truly beachside experience, take to the poolside lined with parasol-shaded sun loungers and dip into the infinity

pool to literally soak in the moments as the sky turns golden. Ask for a pint of ‘minus-two’ extra cold beer, or go for cocktails: great for sharing, there are three signature sangria selections available by the carafe, serving a party of four well, for only IDR 450,000. Agra-Ria is a truly refreshing blend of wine with basil leaves, orange slices, tangerine juice and soda water.

The other two are fruity takes on sangria. The watermelon sun-gria, which is also pleasing to the eyes with its splashes of colour – wine with watermelon juice, vodka, triple sec, and garnished with frozen watermelon cubes, lime, orange and sugar - matches the sunset hues.

The fruit sung-gria is a sparkling option, with orange, blueberries and strawberries.

The main signature cocktail lineup includes great selections available by the glass (IDR 128,000) and by the jug (IDR 580,000), with quirky names such as ‘Rezunset’ and ‘Forbidden SKAI’. Rezunset is a blend of vodka, apple and peach syrup, mango and orange juice and lime wedges.

Forbidden SKAI might have been

named for its sinful deliciousness, combining dry gin, syrup, lychees, lime wedges, mint leaves and tonic.

The pieces of lychees add a sweet treat with every swig.

Those feeling peckish will relish in the seasonal delights created by Chef Bradley Pittman, and there’s almost always something different on the menu to try out. The popular permanent choices include tequila ceviche of salmon and scallop, or the serving of Mexican cheese and fondue. If you’re really hungry after the dip, you may go for a satisfying SKAI ultimate salad sandwich served with French fries, or sticky pork spare ribs served with baked potatoes and sweet corn.

Live DJs do their gigs five days a week, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not just a cool place to chill out, the overall setting is fresh and edgy, and its giant-sized mural is a work of art to admire. While Padma Resort guests enjoy the most convenient and instant access along leafy pathways leading to the beach club right from their own guestrooms and suites, public guests are always welcome. (net)

Harry How/Getty Images/AFP

Michael Andrew celebrates victory in the Men 50 LC Meter Freestyle Final during day 5 of the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships at the Woollett Aquatics Center on July 29, 2018 in Irvine, California.

US teen sensation Andrew, 14, looks for Pan Pacs breakthrough

The Orlando Magic will play the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz in NBA regular-season games next December in Mexico City, the league announced Tuesday. The NBA also announced a new deal with Zignia Live that will secure two regular-season games a season at Mexico City Arena for each of the next three campaigns.

Orlando will face the Bulls on December 13 and meet the Jazz two nights later in the third consecutive season to see two NBA contests in Mexico City.

In all, the NBA will have staged 28 games in Mexico since 1992, the most played in any nation outside the United States and Canada.

“Returning to Mexico City for two regular-season games this season reinforces our commitment to growing basketball in Mexico and Latin America,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“NBA teams have been playing in Mexico for more than 25 years, and the Bulls, Jazz and Magic organizations are excited to continue

the tradition of bringing the live game experience to our passionate Mexican fans.”

Orlando’s lineup includes Aaron Gordon and Mohamed Bamba, a 7-footer (2.16m) whose parents emigrated to the United States from Ivory Coast.

“Having played in England twice, Japan, China, Mexico and Brazil, the Orlando Magic are always honored to participate in the NBA’s Global Games,” said Magic chief executive Alex Martins.

“From our previous experience of playing in Mexico City, we know the passion of the fans and look forward to this amazing opportunity.”

Utah features Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert of France, while the Bulls’ roster features two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Zach LaVine and Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen. It will be the fourth time the Jazz plays in Mexico, the first time in 15 years. (afp)

IRVINE - Michael Andrew, in the spotlight since turning professional at the age of 14, is ready to take his swimming career to the next level, and the Pan Pacific Championships are just the beginning.

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“I do feel like this is kind of the kickstart of my adult professional career,” Andrew said in Irvine, California, last month after winning four national titles and booking his berth for the Pan Pacs and next year’s World Championships in South Korea.

“I definitely think it gives me a lot of credibility.”

While Andrew was famed for his rewriting of the national age group record book, plenty of pundits predicted the unorthodox “race-pace” training methods used by his coach, his father Peter Andrew, would translate into seniorlevel success.

“It’s been a long road,” said

Andrew, who typically swims workouts of about one-third the distance of most elite swimmers.

“We went through a lot of interesting feedback from the swimming world.”

Andrew captured his first senior national title in the 50m butterfly, “the first race where I cried afterwards,” he said.

His stated aim is to be “the best in the world at all four 50s,” and he won the 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle in Irvine as well.

But since only the 50m free is an Olympic event, it was his 100m breaststroke triumph that Andrew admitted “gives me a lot of credibility”.

It also makes him the likely choice to swim the breaststroke leg in the 4x100m medley relay.

Although his winning time of 59.38sec was just the ninth-fastest in the world this year -- and wouldn’t have qualified for last year’s World Championships -Andrew believes he can rise to the relay challenge.

“You swim the fastest on relays because you’re swimming for the team, and I’ve been able to experience that a couple of times in the World Junior Champs,” he said. “It fires me up. I know how fast I swam there, and I know there’s certain things I can still improve on to get faster.” (afp)

Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Jarace Walker #15 of Mid-Atlantic Boys talks to media after the game against the Midwest Boys during the Jr. NBA World Championships Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on August 7, 2018.

8

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Pogba keen to leave United for Barcelona - reports

France World Cup star Paul Pogba is determined to end his fractious relationship with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and move to Barcelona, according to British media reports on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old -- who scored in the 4-2 World Cup final win over Croatia -- has agreed terms with Barcelona for a deal worth £89.5 million ($115 million, 100 million euros) over five years, according to the Daily Mail.

The reported agreement would see him pick up £346,000 a week, almost double what he earns at

United.

The Sun claims the former Juventus star -- who joined United for a then world-record fee of £89 million in 2016 -- has demanded the Premier League side increase his wages from £180,000 to £380,000 a week so he is paid almost on a par with Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, otherwise he will leave.

United, though, would be most reluctant to sell him, with the Daily Mail reporting they have already rejected a bid by Barcelona of £44.5 million plus Colombian central defender Yerry Mina and Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes.

Mourinho has expressed his frustration over the club’s transfer policy, and Pogba’s departure would leave little time for executive chairman Ed Woodward to find a suitable replacement with the Premier League transfer window due to close on Thursday.

The club has had to deny the claim that Pogba sent a text message to Woodward demanding he be allowed to leave.

The Frenchman is keen to move to Barcelona -- the Spanish transfer window does not shut till the end of the month -- to play with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, while his close friend and former Juventus team-mate Arturo Vidal also recently moved to the Catalan giants.

- ‘Pogba needs to play his part’ -

IBP/afp

In this file photo taken on May 04, 2018 Manchester United’s French midfielder Paul Pogba controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on May 4, 2018.

Essentially, though, Pogba’s unhappiness stems from the deterioration in his relationship with Mourinho, who not only does he blame for his muted performances for United since his move but also for his qualified praise of his performances for France at the World Cup. “Paul was like the (France) team. He started average and ended top,” Mourinho told beIN Sports on United’s unhappy tour of the United States last week.

Pogba, though, is believed to have been more upset by what followed in the interview as Mourinho implied being in an enclosed environment over six weeks ensured he focused just on football and not on outside matters such as commercial contracts.

Pogba’s super agent Mino Raiola -- who was also instrumental in bringing Romelu Lukaku to United last summer -- has remained out of the fray, refusing to comment on links with Barcelona.

“I will never make declarations about Paul,” said the Dutch-Italian agent, who is reported to have earned just over £40 million when Pogba moved to United. “You have to speak to Manchester United,” added Raiola.

Former United star Rio Ferdinand told Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Mail that Mourinho needed to fit the team around Pogba’s sublime talent, but accepted the player needed to adapt too.

“It’s down to the manager to get the best out of him, setting the team up and setting Pogba up in the right way to achieve the best,” said the former England central defender. “But Pogba needs to play his part in that.

“It’s a case of the player and manager getting an understanding for each other and getting the best out of the player.” (afp)

Ligue 1 returns hoping to capitalise on French World Cup success

AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 12, 2018, file photo, former Olympic and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt controls the ball during a charity soccer match between members of the 1998 World Cup winning French team and a team of international veteran players who were also involved in the same tournament, at the U Arena in Nanterre, north of Paris, France.

Bolt agrees to practice deal with Australian soccer club

SYDNEY — Usain Bolt is quickly closing in on a professional soccer career.

The Jamaican great has negotiated an “indefinite training period” with Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s A-League.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the 100- and 200-meter world record holder has been chasing another career ambition since quitting quit track and field.

“It has been my dream to play professional football and I know that it will involve a lot of hard work and training to get to the level required to play and make an impact in the A-League,” the 31-yearold Bolt said in a statement released by the Mariners on Tuesday. “I am very excited about coming to Australia and would like to thank the owner and management of the Central Coast Mariners for giving me this opportunity.”

The Mariners said the agreement does not guarantee Bolt a professional contract but does give him the opportunity.

“I always say that ‘Anything is possible, don’t think limits,’ and I look forward to the challenge,” said Bolt, who is set to travel to Gosford, north of Sydney, this month to join the squad for practice.

The A-League season opens in October.

Bolt has already tried to play with clubs in Germany and South Africa and some critics have regarded speculation of his latest attempt in Australia as a public relations stunt.

Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp said he is optimistic about Bolt’s opportunity.

“It is important that we don’t get too caught up in the hype of possibilities, but ... we are committed to building a team that will win matches and instill belief, hopefully Usain can help us on this mission,” Mielekamp said. “We welcome Usain with open arms, and we will always remain grounded and focused on the job at hand.”

Football Federation Australia responded last month with caution when reports emerged of Bolt’s hopes to play in the A-League.

In a statement then, the FFA said: “While Usain Bolt is one of the most famous athletes on the planet, he’s not a professional footballer. If the trial goes ahead and Central Coast Mariners decided it stacks up and they want to offer him a contract, then we will have a discussion with them around that and what might be possible.” (ap)

The dust has barely settled on France’s triumphant World Cup campaign, but Ligue 1 returns this weekend with French champions Paris Saint-Germain under new management and with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar taking superstar billing.

Less than four weeks after France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to lift the World Cup for the second time, sparking huge celebrations on the streets of Paris and around the country, the trophy will be paraded at the Stade Velodrome when Marseille play Toulouse in the first game of the season on Friday.

Eight players based in Ligue 1 were in Didier Deschamps’ squad in Russia, although of that group only PSG’s teenage superstar Mbappe was a regular. The 19-year-old took the tournament by storm and won the award for the best young player after scoring four goals in Russia, including one in the final.

While Neymar’s long-term future remains the source of constant speculation, Mbappe’s World Cup performances suggested he can be the real poster boy for PSG going forward.

That applies for the league as well, which still boasts the two most expensive players in the world -- the

transfer window does not close until the end of the month -- and will now be eager to capitalise on the national team’s success.

Ligue 1 still lags behind its main European rivals financially, but things are changing for the better.

TV rights for the four seasons from 2020 were sold in May to Chineseowned group Mediapro for 1.15 billion euros ($1.33 billion) a year, a huge increase.

In an attempt to build on the impact of the World Cup, while also acknowledging Ligue 1’s status as a fertile breeding ground for brilliant youngsters, the LFP are promoting their competition internationally as “The League of Talents”.

“Even if there are only eight members of the France team playing in Ligue 1, the word France is there as the common theme. It is an extra argument in our favour and makes investors want to watch what is happening in France,” said Didier Quillot, the LFP’s director general.

Foreign investors are showing more interest, with an American group closing on a takeover at Bordeaux.

Marseille, last season’s Europa League runners-up, are already in American hands, while Monaco have

been reinvigorated in recent years under Russian ownership.

- Tuchel in at PSG -

But it is PSG, with the vast wealth of their Qatari owners, who are favourites to win the title again.

Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as coach to replace Unai Emery, who won the domestic treble last season but oversaw a disappointing Champions League exit against Real Madrid.

Improving in Europe is the big objective for Tuchel, the svelte German formerly of Borussia Dortmund.

But he must also deliver at home, with PSG looking for a sixth title in seven seasons. Under pressure to adhere to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, there has been no big splurge in the transfer market yet, but Gianluigi Buffon, now 40, has arrived on a free from Juventus.

Forever linked with Real Madrid, Neymar has insisted he is looking forward to working with the new coach.

“He’s a great coach and we’re hoping for a great season,” the Brazilian told AFP recently.

PSG should be far too strong for their main challengers, who are likely to again be Monaco, Lyon and Marseille. (afp)

Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

Paris Saint-Germain’s German headcoach Thomas Tuchel (R) speacks to Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar Jr before he enters the pitch during the French Trophy of Champions (Trophee des Champions) football match between Monaco (ASM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on August 4, 2018 in Shenzhen.

Real Madrid end US tour with 2-1 win over Roma

Gareth Bale is serving notice that he is ready to shine without Cristiano Ronaldo, factoring in both goals as Real Madrid wrapped up their US tour with a 2-1 win over Roma on Tuesday.

Bale and Marco Asensio scored for Real Madrid who put on a strong performance especially in the first half of the International Champions Cup friendly at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Real Madrid is hoping Bale is ready to fully evolve into the player they signed for a world record fee in 2013.

The 33-year-old Ronaldo ended a nine-year spell at Real Madrid by recently signing with Italian champions Juventus.

“We’re scoring goals and we’re winning matches, so we’re doing well,” Bale said. “We have to keep improving and we’re really looking

9

forward to starting the new season.”

Asensio, with his third goal of the preseason, opened the scoring just two minutes into the contest.

Bale delivered a brilliant pass to the foot of Asensio and he found the back of the net.

Real Madrid struck again in the 15th minute as Bale would score this time, taking an equally superb pass from Dani Carvajal. Bale walked in and beat goalkeeper Robin Olsen to make it 2-0.

Real Madrid wasn’t nearly as dominant in the second half as most of their starting squad was subbed off. Kevin Strootman made it interesting by scoring in the 83rd minute for Roma.

Strootman was left wide open off a throw-in and headed pass and all he had to do was hammer it past the startled Real Madrid goalkeeper. (afp)

8

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Pogba keen to leave United for Barcelona - reports

France World Cup star Paul Pogba is determined to end his fractious relationship with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and move to Barcelona, according to British media reports on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old -- who scored in the 4-2 World Cup final win over Croatia -- has agreed terms with Barcelona for a deal worth £89.5 million ($115 million, 100 million euros) over five years, according to the Daily Mail.

The reported agreement would see him pick up £346,000 a week, almost double what he earns at

United.

The Sun claims the former Juventus star -- who joined United for a then world-record fee of £89 million in 2016 -- has demanded the Premier League side increase his wages from £180,000 to £380,000 a week so he is paid almost on a par with Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, otherwise he will leave.

United, though, would be most reluctant to sell him, with the Daily Mail reporting they have already rejected a bid by Barcelona of £44.5 million plus Colombian central defender Yerry Mina and Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes.

Mourinho has expressed his frustration over the club’s transfer policy, and Pogba’s departure would leave little time for executive chairman Ed Woodward to find a suitable replacement with the Premier League transfer window due to close on Thursday.

The club has had to deny the claim that Pogba sent a text message to Woodward demanding he be allowed to leave.

The Frenchman is keen to move to Barcelona -- the Spanish transfer window does not shut till the end of the month -- to play with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, while his close friend and former Juventus team-mate Arturo Vidal also recently moved to the Catalan giants.

- ‘Pogba needs to play his part’ -

IBP/afp

In this file photo taken on May 04, 2018 Manchester United’s French midfielder Paul Pogba controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on May 4, 2018.

Essentially, though, Pogba’s unhappiness stems from the deterioration in his relationship with Mourinho, who not only does he blame for his muted performances for United since his move but also for his qualified praise of his performances for France at the World Cup. “Paul was like the (France) team. He started average and ended top,” Mourinho told beIN Sports on United’s unhappy tour of the United States last week.

Pogba, though, is believed to have been more upset by what followed in the interview as Mourinho implied being in an enclosed environment over six weeks ensured he focused just on football and not on outside matters such as commercial contracts.

Pogba’s super agent Mino Raiola -- who was also instrumental in bringing Romelu Lukaku to United last summer -- has remained out of the fray, refusing to comment on links with Barcelona.

“I will never make declarations about Paul,” said the Dutch-Italian agent, who is reported to have earned just over £40 million when Pogba moved to United. “You have to speak to Manchester United,” added Raiola.

Former United star Rio Ferdinand told Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Mail that Mourinho needed to fit the team around Pogba’s sublime talent, but accepted the player needed to adapt too.

“It’s down to the manager to get the best out of him, setting the team up and setting Pogba up in the right way to achieve the best,” said the former England central defender. “But Pogba needs to play his part in that.

“It’s a case of the player and manager getting an understanding for each other and getting the best out of the player.” (afp)

Ligue 1 returns hoping to capitalise on French World Cup success

AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 12, 2018, file photo, former Olympic and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt controls the ball during a charity soccer match between members of the 1998 World Cup winning French team and a team of international veteran players who were also involved in the same tournament, at the U Arena in Nanterre, north of Paris, France.

Bolt agrees to practice deal with Australian soccer club

SYDNEY — Usain Bolt is quickly closing in on a professional soccer career.

The Jamaican great has negotiated an “indefinite training period” with Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s A-League.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the 100- and 200-meter world record holder has been chasing another career ambition since quitting quit track and field.

“It has been my dream to play professional football and I know that it will involve a lot of hard work and training to get to the level required to play and make an impact in the A-League,” the 31-yearold Bolt said in a statement released by the Mariners on Tuesday. “I am very excited about coming to Australia and would like to thank the owner and management of the Central Coast Mariners for giving me this opportunity.”

The Mariners said the agreement does not guarantee Bolt a professional contract but does give him the opportunity.

“I always say that ‘Anything is possible, don’t think limits,’ and I look forward to the challenge,” said Bolt, who is set to travel to Gosford, north of Sydney, this month to join the squad for practice.

The A-League season opens in October.

Bolt has already tried to play with clubs in Germany and South Africa and some critics have regarded speculation of his latest attempt in Australia as a public relations stunt.

Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp said he is optimistic about Bolt’s opportunity.

“It is important that we don’t get too caught up in the hype of possibilities, but ... we are committed to building a team that will win matches and instill belief, hopefully Usain can help us on this mission,” Mielekamp said. “We welcome Usain with open arms, and we will always remain grounded and focused on the job at hand.”

Football Federation Australia responded last month with caution when reports emerged of Bolt’s hopes to play in the A-League.

In a statement then, the FFA said: “While Usain Bolt is one of the most famous athletes on the planet, he’s not a professional footballer. If the trial goes ahead and Central Coast Mariners decided it stacks up and they want to offer him a contract, then we will have a discussion with them around that and what might be possible.” (ap)

The dust has barely settled on France’s triumphant World Cup campaign, but Ligue 1 returns this weekend with French champions Paris Saint-Germain under new management and with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar taking superstar billing.

Less than four weeks after France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to lift the World Cup for the second time, sparking huge celebrations on the streets of Paris and around the country, the trophy will be paraded at the Stade Velodrome when Marseille play Toulouse in the first game of the season on Friday.

Eight players based in Ligue 1 were in Didier Deschamps’ squad in Russia, although of that group only PSG’s teenage superstar Mbappe was a regular. The 19-year-old took the tournament by storm and won the award for the best young player after scoring four goals in Russia, including one in the final.

While Neymar’s long-term future remains the source of constant speculation, Mbappe’s World Cup performances suggested he can be the real poster boy for PSG going forward.

That applies for the league as well, which still boasts the two most expensive players in the world -- the

transfer window does not close until the end of the month -- and will now be eager to capitalise on the national team’s success.

Ligue 1 still lags behind its main European rivals financially, but things are changing for the better.

TV rights for the four seasons from 2020 were sold in May to Chineseowned group Mediapro for 1.15 billion euros ($1.33 billion) a year, a huge increase.

In an attempt to build on the impact of the World Cup, while also acknowledging Ligue 1’s status as a fertile breeding ground for brilliant youngsters, the LFP are promoting their competition internationally as “The League of Talents”.

“Even if there are only eight members of the France team playing in Ligue 1, the word France is there as the common theme. It is an extra argument in our favour and makes investors want to watch what is happening in France,” said Didier Quillot, the LFP’s director general.

Foreign investors are showing more interest, with an American group closing on a takeover at Bordeaux.

Marseille, last season’s Europa League runners-up, are already in American hands, while Monaco have

been reinvigorated in recent years under Russian ownership.

- Tuchel in at PSG -

But it is PSG, with the vast wealth of their Qatari owners, who are favourites to win the title again.

Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as coach to replace Unai Emery, who won the domestic treble last season but oversaw a disappointing Champions League exit against Real Madrid.

Improving in Europe is the big objective for Tuchel, the svelte German formerly of Borussia Dortmund.

But he must also deliver at home, with PSG looking for a sixth title in seven seasons. Under pressure to adhere to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, there has been no big splurge in the transfer market yet, but Gianluigi Buffon, now 40, has arrived on a free from Juventus.

Forever linked with Real Madrid, Neymar has insisted he is looking forward to working with the new coach.

“He’s a great coach and we’re hoping for a great season,” the Brazilian told AFP recently.

PSG should be far too strong for their main challengers, who are likely to again be Monaco, Lyon and Marseille. (afp)

Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

Paris Saint-Germain’s German headcoach Thomas Tuchel (R) speacks to Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar Jr before he enters the pitch during the French Trophy of Champions (Trophee des Champions) football match between Monaco (ASM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on August 4, 2018 in Shenzhen.

Real Madrid end US tour with 2-1 win over Roma

Gareth Bale is serving notice that he is ready to shine without Cristiano Ronaldo, factoring in both goals as Real Madrid wrapped up their US tour with a 2-1 win over Roma on Tuesday.

Bale and Marco Asensio scored for Real Madrid who put on a strong performance especially in the first half of the International Champions Cup friendly at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Real Madrid is hoping Bale is ready to fully evolve into the player they signed for a world record fee in 2013.

The 33-year-old Ronaldo ended a nine-year spell at Real Madrid by recently signing with Italian champions Juventus.

“We’re scoring goals and we’re winning matches, so we’re doing well,” Bale said. “We have to keep improving and we’re really looking

9

forward to starting the new season.”

Asensio, with his third goal of the preseason, opened the scoring just two minutes into the contest.

Bale delivered a brilliant pass to the foot of Asensio and he found the back of the net.

Real Madrid struck again in the 15th minute as Bale would score this time, taking an equally superb pass from Dani Carvajal. Bale walked in and beat goalkeeper Robin Olsen to make it 2-0.

Real Madrid wasn’t nearly as dominant in the second half as most of their starting squad was subbed off. Kevin Strootman made it interesting by scoring in the 83rd minute for Roma.

Strootman was left wide open off a throw-in and headed pass and all he had to do was hammer it past the startled Real Madrid goalkeeper. (afp)

10

Destination

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Magic to host Bulls, Jazz in NBA Mexico City games

SKAI Beach Club SKAI Beach Club at Padma Resort Legian in Bali is the resort’s main beachfront venue, where you can take in the stunning sunset moments over the Legian surf from various cosy lounging spots indoors and out on a semi-al fresco terrace and while soaking in an infinity pool.

Aptly, its name is a playful acronym of ‘sunset, kocktail, al fresco and indulgence’. SKAI adds to the small number of beach club lounging options on Legian Beach. Returning guests to Padma Resort will find

SKAI Beach Club as the amazingly refreshing result of a total revamp from Padma’s former Bella Rosa Italian restaurant, where you can now enjoy a refined chill-out venue with signature cocktails served from a strikingly designed bar composed of a criss-cross woody trellis and latticework, and with light bites from an all-day dining menu.

Great views at any time of the day are assured by its beachfront location. Nonetheless, the best time to go is surely at sunset. For this,

you should head for the fully al fresco area, where rectangular white terrazzo pods with bright blue, yellow and green cushions make for great gathering spots with friends.

Couples will find a cosy and more intimate option at the semi-al fresco lounges, featuring comfy sofas and a wooden panel backdrop with murals of Balinese Legong dancers.

Best still, for a truly beachside experience, take to the poolside lined with parasol-shaded sun loungers and dip into the infinity

pool to literally soak in the moments as the sky turns golden. Ask for a pint of ‘minus-two’ extra cold beer, or go for cocktails: great for sharing, there are three signature sangria selections available by the carafe, serving a party of four well, for only IDR 450,000. Agra-Ria is a truly refreshing blend of wine with basil leaves, orange slices, tangerine juice and soda water.

The other two are fruity takes on sangria. The watermelon sun-gria, which is also pleasing to the eyes with its splashes of colour – wine with watermelon juice, vodka, triple sec, and garnished with frozen watermelon cubes, lime, orange and sugar - matches the sunset hues.

The fruit sung-gria is a sparkling option, with orange, blueberries and strawberries.

The main signature cocktail lineup includes great selections available by the glass (IDR 128,000) and by the jug (IDR 580,000), with quirky names such as ‘Rezunset’ and ‘Forbidden SKAI’. Rezunset is a blend of vodka, apple and peach syrup, mango and orange juice and lime wedges.

Forbidden SKAI might have been

named for its sinful deliciousness, combining dry gin, syrup, lychees, lime wedges, mint leaves and tonic.

The pieces of lychees add a sweet treat with every swig.

Those feeling peckish will relish in the seasonal delights created by Chef Bradley Pittman, and there’s almost always something different on the menu to try out. The popular permanent choices include tequila ceviche of salmon and scallop, or the serving of Mexican cheese and fondue. If you’re really hungry after the dip, you may go for a satisfying SKAI ultimate salad sandwich served with French fries, or sticky pork spare ribs served with baked potatoes and sweet corn.

Live DJs do their gigs five days a week, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not just a cool place to chill out, the overall setting is fresh and edgy, and its giant-sized mural is a work of art to admire. While Padma Resort guests enjoy the most convenient and instant access along leafy pathways leading to the beach club right from their own guestrooms and suites, public guests are always welcome. (net)

Harry How/Getty Images/AFP

Michael Andrew celebrates victory in the Men 50 LC Meter Freestyle Final during day 5 of the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships at the Woollett Aquatics Center on July 29, 2018 in Irvine, California.

US teen sensation Andrew, 14, looks for Pan Pacs breakthrough

The Orlando Magic will play the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz in NBA regular-season games next December in Mexico City, the league announced Tuesday. The NBA also announced a new deal with Zignia Live that will secure two regular-season games a season at Mexico City Arena for each of the next three campaigns.

Orlando will face the Bulls on December 13 and meet the Jazz two nights later in the third consecutive season to see two NBA contests in Mexico City.

In all, the NBA will have staged 28 games in Mexico since 1992, the most played in any nation outside the United States and Canada.

“Returning to Mexico City for two regular-season games this season reinforces our commitment to growing basketball in Mexico and Latin America,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“NBA teams have been playing in Mexico for more than 25 years, and the Bulls, Jazz and Magic organizations are excited to continue

the tradition of bringing the live game experience to our passionate Mexican fans.”

Orlando’s lineup includes Aaron Gordon and Mohamed Bamba, a 7-footer (2.16m) whose parents emigrated to the United States from Ivory Coast.

“Having played in England twice, Japan, China, Mexico and Brazil, the Orlando Magic are always honored to participate in the NBA’s Global Games,” said Magic chief executive Alex Martins.

“From our previous experience of playing in Mexico City, we know the passion of the fans and look forward to this amazing opportunity.”

Utah features Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert of France, while the Bulls’ roster features two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Zach LaVine and Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen. It will be the fourth time the Jazz plays in Mexico, the first time in 15 years. (afp)

IRVINE - Michael Andrew, in the spotlight since turning professional at the age of 14, is ready to take his swimming career to the next level, and the Pan Pacific Championships are just the beginning.

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“I do feel like this is kind of the kickstart of my adult professional career,” Andrew said in Irvine, California, last month after winning four national titles and booking his berth for the Pan Pacs and next year’s World Championships in South Korea.

“I definitely think it gives me a lot of credibility.”

While Andrew was famed for his rewriting of the national age group record book, plenty of pundits predicted the unorthodox “race-pace” training methods used by his coach, his father Peter Andrew, would translate into seniorlevel success.

“It’s been a long road,” said

Andrew, who typically swims workouts of about one-third the distance of most elite swimmers.

“We went through a lot of interesting feedback from the swimming world.”

Andrew captured his first senior national title in the 50m butterfly, “the first race where I cried afterwards,” he said.

His stated aim is to be “the best in the world at all four 50s,” and he won the 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle in Irvine as well.

But since only the 50m free is an Olympic event, it was his 100m breaststroke triumph that Andrew admitted “gives me a lot of credibility”.

It also makes him the likely choice to swim the breaststroke leg in the 4x100m medley relay.

Although his winning time of 59.38sec was just the ninth-fastest in the world this year -- and wouldn’t have qualified for last year’s World Championships -Andrew believes he can rise to the relay challenge.

“You swim the fastest on relays because you’re swimming for the team, and I’ve been able to experience that a couple of times in the World Junior Champs,” he said. “It fires me up. I know how fast I swam there, and I know there’s certain things I can still improve on to get faster.” (afp)

Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Jarace Walker #15 of Mid-Atlantic Boys talks to media after the game against the Midwest Boys during the Jr. NBA World Championships Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on August 7, 2018.

6

Thursday, August 9, 2018

W

International

RLD

In Venezuela’s hospitals, eat at your own risk

CARACAS - Hardly anybody likes hospital food but in Venezuela, it’s so awful -- monotonous, starchy diets cooked in filthy conditions, and newborns fed intravenous solution for lack of baby formula -- that experts call it an actual health risk.

Take Carla Lopez, 40, who has been hospitalized for three months to treat open wounds on her foot as a result of diabetes.

Lopez should go easy on pasta and rice -- but that’s all she gets.

“I eat whatever they give me,” Lopez said as she waves away flies buzzing over a plate of rice and lentils at University Hospital in Caracas. It is pretty flavorless stuff as the hospital is out of salt.

An excess of starch causes her blood sugar levels to shoot up.

Even if she were out of the hospital, she could not afford, say, a kilo (2.2 pounds) of chicken, which costs 1.5 times her monthly salary in this oil-rich but economically ravaged country saddled with runaway inflation.

Lopez says that for breakfast, she gets a kind of cornmeal patty known here as an arepa, and for lunch, it’s either pasta or lentils with rice.

“In the evening, they serve you another arepa -- a small, skimpy one,” said Lopez.

Back in better times, this hospital used to have different cooks for different medical problems, said nutritionist Gladys Abreu.

Now, everybody gets the same fare, and not much of it: 40 grams of rice and 25 grams of legumes.

“That is hardly enough for a small child,” said one staffer in the hospital kitchen.

Another hospital employee who asked not to be named complained that garbage piles up at the facility, an imposing 11-story building that is 60 years old.

Indeed, a nearby trash bin overflows with detritus.

The National Hospital Survey, published in March by the opposition-controlled National Assembly and by an NGO called Doctors for Health, said 96 percent of Venezuela’s hospitals fail to feed their patients adequately, or do not feed them at all.

The poll covered 104 state-run hospitals and 33 private ones.

- Intravenous solution as milk -

At the Concepcion Palacios maternity clinic, also in Caracas, doctors stopped providing formula for newborns because there was no money for it.

Parents can provide their own, but one mother, Yereercis Olivar, who just gave birth to her second child, cannot afford formula.

She could not nurse the baby, either, because they were separated to protect the child from the chicken pox that Olivar came down with while pregnant. It has left her skin covered in blisters.

Olivar was desperate, so she started trying to extract milk from her breasts with a syringe.

It took three days for that excruciating method to kick in and provide milk.

During that time, the baby lived “only on serum” -- the kind used in intravenous solutions to keep adults hydrated. It was fed to the child from a baby bottle. (afp)

Juan BARRETO / AFP

A woman gestures at a room of the University Hospital in Caracas on July 19, 2018. Rice, grains or pasta is the only diet for patients in the University Hospital in Caracas.

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

11

Death toll in Lombok quake hits 131, more than 156,000 displaced

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

A firefighter monitors a back fire while battling the Medocino Complex fire on August 7, 2018 near Lodoga, California.

California scorched by raging wildfires the size of LA

MENDOCINO - Thousands of firefighters battled relentless flames ripping across California on Wednesday, as the death toll from a series of infernos that erupted last month hit 11.

The raging Mendocino Complex fire comprising twin blazes in the state’s north has now ravaged almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) -- approximately the size of sprawling Los Angeles -- in less than two weeks, becoming California’s largest wildfire since recordkeeping began a century ago.

Some 14,000 firefighters, including reinforcements from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, are combating the firestorm which remains just 34 percent contained.

The River Fire of the Mendocino Complex is 78 percent contained, having burned 48,920 acres. But its partner blaze the Ranch Fire has grown to 243,772 acres and is just 20 percent contained.

“Still a lot of work to do,” said Charlie Blankenheim, a chief of fire fighting operations. “But we have got a plan for all of it, we think that in a day or two we are going to have some success and start to wrap this up.”

Limited access, heavy fuel loads, low fuel moisture and high temperatures were all impeding firefighters’ efforts to rein in the conflagration, the state’s CalFire authority said.

Overall, the Mendocino Complex fire has destroyed at least 143 structures, 75 of them residences.

More than 11,000 other structures are threatened, according to CalFire.

The Ranch fire, which poses

the biggest challenge, has swept across natural barriers like rivers, and a ditch dug with earth-moving machinery.

Helicopters and airplanes, including two massive DC-10s and a 747 jumbo jet, were supporting firefighters by dousing the flames with water.

Two people have died in that inferno alone, taking to 11 the number of people killed by major fires that are becoming something of a constant in the state.

The Carr Fire to the north has meanwhile engulfed 167,113 acres since igniting July 23, killing seven people so far.

Firefighters have managed to get it 47 percent contained, challenged by varying wind patterns and rough terrain that includes steep drainages. At one point, it even whipped up a tornado of orange flame.

Another major fire, Ferguson, has left two people dead and forced the closure of part of the Yosemite National Park. It is currently only 38 percent contained.

Several thousand people have been evacuated, although some have been given permission in recent days to return home.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week is for more hot, dry weather of the kind that helps fires spread.

The Mendocino Complex is the second fire to break records in California in as many years, following the Thomas Fire in December 2017 that destroyed 281,893 acres.

“This is part of a trend -- a new normal -- that we got to deal with,” Governor Jerry Brown told journalists of the “horrific” wildfires. (afp)

The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said Wednesday, with some 156,000 forced from their homes. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake triggered panic among locals and tourists on Lombok on Sunday, just a week after another tremor surged through the holiday island and killed 17.

Around 1,477 people have been severely injured in the latest quake, with tens of thousands of homes damaged, and authorities have appealed for more medical personnel and basic supplies.

“We estimate the death toll of 131 will keep rising,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Workers with heavy machinery resumed searching through the rubble of homes, schools and mosques Wednesday, with hope of finding any survivors fading. Muhammad Zainul Majdi, the governor of West Nusa Tenggara province which covers Lombok, said there was a dire need for medical staff, food and medicine in the worst-hit areas.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims have been treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other badly affected areas.

“We have limited human resources. Some paramedics have to be at the shelters, some need to be mobile,” Majdi told AFP. “The scale of this quake is massive for us here in West Nusa Tenggara, this is our first experience.”

Some evacuees are grappling with the traumatic scenes of death and destruction that accompanied the quake.

“I saw my neighbour get stuck in the rubble and die. He asked me for help, but I couldn’t help him, we just ran to help ourselves,” Johriah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP tearfully.

The Indonesian Red Cross said it had set up 10 mobile clinics in the north of the island and a field hospital had been established near an evacuation centre catering to more than 500 people in the village of Tanjung.

Kurniawan Eko Wibowo, a doctor at the field hospital, said most patients were suffering broken bones and head injuries.

“We lack the infrastructure to perform operations because (they) need to be performed in a sterile place,” Wibowo told AFP. - ‘Destruction almost 100 percent’ -

Across much of the island, once-bustling villages have

been turned into virtual ghost towns.

“In some villages we visited the destruction was almost 100 percent, all houses collapsed, roads are cracked and bridges were broken,” said Arifin Muhammad Hadi, a spokesman for the Indonesian Red Cross.

Makeshift encampments have popped up on the side of roads and rice fields, with many farmers reluctant to move far from their damaged homes and leave precious livestock behind.

“It’s typical of earthquake victims in Indonesia, they want to stay close to their livelihood, they can’t bring their livestock to the shelters,” Hadi said.

Local authorities, international relief groups and the central government have begun organising aid, but shat-

tered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of Lombok, which was hardest hit.

The Indonesian military said that three Hercules transporter planes packed with much-needed food, medication, blankets, tents and water tanks have now arrived in Lombok.

But some evacuees have complained of being ignored or of experiencing long delays for supplies to arrive at shelters.

“There has been no help at all here,” said 36-year-old Multazam, who was staying with hundreds of others under tarpaulins on a dry paddy field outside West Pemenang village. “We have no clean water, so if we want to go to the toilet we use a small river nearby,” he said, adding they needed food, bedding and medicine. (afp)

ADEK BERRY / AFP

Search and rescue personnel look for victims in the rubble of a mosque in Pemenang, northern Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province on August 8, 2018, three days after the area was struck by an earthquake. The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said August 8, with some 156,000 forced from their homes.

Indonesian shaman arrested for keeping sex slave for 15 years An Indonesian shaman has been arrested for keeping an abducted teenager as a sex slave for 15 years by claiming he was possessed by the spirit of her imaginary boyfriend, police said Wednesday.

The distressed woman, who is now aged 28, was found naked by police on Sunday in a jungle cave near the village of Bajungan in Central Sulawesi province.

She was reported missing by her family in 2003, when she was 13, after visiting the shaman for treatment of an illness.

The victim’s father spent years searching for his daughter. But police said the shaman, whose son is married to the victim’s sister, had told the family the girl had gone far away and would not return.

“Every day, for many years, the shaman had sex with her under the pretence he was possessed by a male spirit,” local

police chief Iqbal Alqudusy told AFP on Wednesday.

The 83-year-old shaman, identified as Jago, tricked the woman into believing the spirit of a young man named Amrin lived inside him, Alqudusy said. The victim was convinced Amrin was her boyfriend.

The shaman is alleged to have hidden the woman in the cave during the day and to have had sex with her in a nearby hut at night.

Police rescued the woman, who is currently at a safe house, after receiving a tip-off from a family member. “She is very disoriented, she’s scared of people and keeps wanting to go back to the cave,” Alqudusy said, adding she would undergo therapy.

The shaman faces 15 years in prison for allegedly having sex with a minor. His family members are also being investigated for failing to inform police.

In a police video obtained by AFP, the shaman admitted he forced the victim to have an abortion when he found out she was pregnant. He said she was given a herbal concoction and miscarried a few days later. She then threw the foetus in a river.

The cave has now become a tourist attraction, with curious locals flocking to the site and vendors selling snacks. Indonesia is a mainly Muslim country but superstitious practices are still widespread.

People often turn to shamans, practitioners seen as having influence in the spirit world, and the paranormal to treat illnesses or to consult on everyday life.

Authorities have introduced a law to ban black magic, with violators facing up to three months in jail or a fine of 450,000 rupiah ($41). (afp)

12

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

BUSINESS

Bali News

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Wayang Lemah to Conquer the Times

Day puppet or wayang lemah performance is considered sacred and usually staged during the day and always associated with the execution of religious ceremony. Puppet performance can only be staged by puppeteers who have undergone spiritual initiation through ceremony.

US trade deficit widens by $46.3 billion in June

WA S H I N G TO N - T h e U.S. trade deficit widened in June for the first time in four months as exports fell and imports grew. Politically sensitive trade gaps with China, Mexico and Canada all increased.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the deficit in goods and services — the gap between what the US sells and what it buys from other countries — rose 7.3 percent to $46.3 billion in June from $43.2 billion in May. U.S. exports slid 0.7 percent to $213.8 billion; imports rose 0.6 percent to $260.2 billion, led by increases in medicine and crude oil.

The United States ran goods deficits in June of $33.5 billion with China, up 0.9 percent from May; $7.4 billion with Mexico, up 10.5 percent; and $2 billion with Canada, up 39.7 percent.

In the first half of the year, the United States has registered a trade deficit in goods and services of $291.2 billion, up 7.2 percent from January-June 2017.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down the gap, which he views as a sign of economic weakness resulting from bad trade deals and abusive behavior by U.S. trading partners like China and Mexico.

In a flurry of activity this year, he has slapped taxes on imported steel and aluminum and on $34 billion in Chinese products. He has threatened to dramatically increase the tariffs on China and to begin taxing imported cars, trucks and auto parts. He also is attempting to renegotiate the North American Free Trade

IBP/kmb

Entil, a Tempting Tiny Serving

AP Photo/Ben Margot, File

In this Dec. 13, 2017 file photo, a container ship is unloaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif. The U.S. trade deficit widened in June 2018 for the first time in four months as exports fell and imports grew. Politically sensitive trade gaps with China, Mexico and Canada all increased.

Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

But his efforts have so far failed to contain the deficit.

“The president promised a transformation of trade policy to bring

down the deficit,” said Lori Wallach, director of the left-leaning Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Trump, she said, “has not lived up to his promises.”

Mainstream economists blame

persistent U.S. trade deficits on an economic reality that can’t be changed much by trade policy: Americans spend more than they produce, and imports fill the gap.

In June, the United States posted a surplus of $22.5 billion in the trade of services such as banking and education. But that was offset by a $68.8 billion deficit in the trade of goods. (ap)

limits according to international standards,” at 36.8 percent.

Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy after the years of unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The government secured a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2016 for an economic reform program that included slashing fuel and electricity

subsidies, imposing a value-added tax and floating the currency. Foreign debt stood at $67.3 billion in December 2016.

Egypt recently introduced a new wave of price hikes for fuel, drinking water and electricity, as well as for new cellular phone lines and cellphone bills. Prices for issuing passports and car licenses also went up steeply.

The austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on poor and middle-class Egyptians.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who was re-elected earlier this year in a vote in which all potentially serious rivals were arrested or withdrew under pressure, has repeatedly called on Egyptians to be patient, saying the long-overdue reforms will pay off with time. Last month, Prime

Minister Mustafa Madbouly said Egyptians should start benefiting from the reform program within two years. The IMF praised the reforms in May, pointing to the country’s 5.2 percent growth rate, a percentage point higher than the previous year.

Egypt says its foreign reserves have increased to $44 billion as of May, the highest level since before the 2011 uprising. (ap)

Egypt’s foreign debt up more than 10 percent from last year CAIRO - Egypt’s foreign debt has climbed more than 10 percent in less than a year, reaching $88.2 billion in March, the central bank said Monday, despite a raft of painful austerity measures aimed at cutting government spending.

Foreign debt is 11.6 percent higher than in June of last year, but the central bank said the debt to GPD ratio is still within “safe

5

Have you ever tasted entil? This Balinese traditional serving resembles lontong and looks simple, but has a tempting flavor. It is flat of four rectangular like a pillow and has a green color because it is wrapped in bamboo leaves (telengidi). It offers very distinctive aroma, so that it can arouse the appetite. Eat entil is enough with chili (Balinese complete seasoning and shrimp paste condiment). However, it will be better when enjoyed with urap vegetables.

Entil is wrapped with bamboo leaves that can make entil taste more delicious. Green color of bamboo leaves seep into the rice when cooked, resulting in a greenish color. Indeed, the making of this serving takes a long time, especially when boiling. The longer boils this entil, the longer it will last and not quickly turn stale.

Entil is famous in the area of Pupuan, while it is also made at Tengkudak, Penebel, Tabanan district.

Moreover, this simple traditional food can be easily found in traditional stalls at villages. It also often becomes a menu of culinary events in the festival held by the government of Tabanan. At Tanah Lot Kreatifood Festival, for instance, this menu is favored by visitors.

The serving includes a pack of entil, and then it is sprinkled with coconut sauce and fried condiment.

Alternatively, it can be mixed with Balinese urap vegetable with sprouts, sliced ??spinach and cuts of long beans mixed with spices.

For old people or those having no

strong teeth, this entil is usually mixed with gravy and seasoning.

“We used to make entil for sale,” said Ni Nyoman Sutiani, 63, the entil maker from Denuma hamlet, Tengkudak, Penebel.

Sutiani admitted the profession to make entil has been pursued since childhood. Initially, she helped her parents and then became the next heir. “Entil has existed for a long time and no one knows for sure when and where it started.

We make this entil from generation to generation until now. Entil remains to have a lot of demand,” said Sutiani.

According to Sutiani, entil is usually presented on particular days, such as Nyepi or Day of Silence where the Hindus perform catur brata penyepian or four abstinences where people will not turn or light fire, not work, not travel and not enjoy any entertainment, so food stock is needed. On that account, entil is chosen because it is durable and not easily stale. “Now, entil is widely sold in traditional markets and stalls, like what I do,” she said.

Entil is made from rice and grated coconut and then wrapped in bamboo leaves tied with rope.

In the past, people used bamboo or coconut bark ropes, but now many people prefer to use plastic ropes. Meanwhile, the seasoning in use includes base genep (complete seasoning), such as onion, garlic, chili, ginger, turmeric, aromatic ginger, galangal and other spices. It is also coupled with grated coconut to make urap seasoning. (kmb)

This puppet show is without using a screen and blencong oil lamp. In playing the puppet, the puppeteer leans the puppets on a white thread of about half to one meter tied to an erythrina wooden stick placed on a banana trunk on both sides of the puppeteer. The gamelan accompaniment is a gender puppet with a five-tone scale. Puppet show of this ceremony is very dependent on the time of the implementation of the religious ceremonies to be followed.

Supporting artists of this show are at least 3 to 5 people consisting of a puppeteer and one or two pairs of gender gamelan players. As ritual arts, the day puppet show usually takes place around the venue of ceremony without using a special stage.

The storyline is adapted to the ceremony performed. If the staging is performed in Deva Yadnya, the play will feature Kunti Yadnya, Marisuda Bumi and others. Meanwhile, at the bhuta yadnya ceremony, the play will feature Bima Dadi Caru and so do the other ceremonies. They must be adjusted to the type of ceremony taking place. The plays are generally derived from the Mahabharata story. (kmb)

Ngerebeg, Offering to Share Fruits with Monkeys at Alas Kedaton Gamelan composition of bleganjur sounded so melodious. The traditional artists of this village played gamelan instrument accompanying the rows of housewives dressed in customary attires while upholding gebogan fruit arrangement and smiling sincerely. A flock of monkeys, the local forest dwellers, were jokingly and jubilantly hopping over lush branches. They seemed to know that the gebogan procession was a happy day filled with joy of sharing fruits.

It is the description of ritual procession for monkeys at Alas Kedaton tourist attraction, Kukuh, Marga, Tabanan, on Saniscara Kliwon Uye took place lively, Saturday (Jan. 20). It has become a tradition that every thanksgiving ritual of monkeys was filled with procession of ngrebeg gebogan (parade of fruit arrangement) as high as 2 meters. “We always carry out the procession every day Tumpek Kandang or Tumpek Uye,” said Secretary of Kukuh customary village, I Gusti Ngurah Pujayasa.

Pujayasa said that thanksgiving ritual at Alas Kedaton also becomes a moment to teach children to love animals. It happened because many residents came to witness the parade of fruit arrangement while taking their children, then gave food to the flock of monkeys. “The celebration of Tumpek Kandang is one of the applications of the Tri Hita Karana teachings in the matter of Palemahan or environmental aspect that maintains harmonious relationship with animals.

Coordinator of Alas Kedaton attraction, Kukuh customary village with the management board of Alas Kedaton and merchant group regularly holds thanksgiving ritual for the monkeys. However, since one and a half year ago a new tradition of ngrebeg gebogan of two-meter high was held. “Tumpek Uye today is the third time for implementing gebogan parade. This serves as a form of our gratitude for the welfare graced by God. Expression of our gratitude to monkeys and fruit bats of Alas Kedaton through a parade can attract tourists,” said Pujayasa.

In this ceremony, the merchant group of Alas Kedaton also contributed 22 pieces of gebogan of small size. Both fruit gebogan offerings of the management board and merchant group of Alas Kedaton contain local fruits such as red guava, tomatoes, corn, carrots, bananas, rambutan, papaya, mango and beans.

Before the parade, it was commenced with thanksgiving ritual in

the middle courtyard of Alas Kedaton Temple. After that, it was resumed with praying together, and presented fruit gebogan before God Almighty.

After the prayers, it was continued with parading the gebogan in the middle courtyard of Kahyangan Kedaton Temple and in the outermost courtyard. Ultimately, the gebogan was placed in the outermost courtyard.

A flock of monkeys then approached and picked up the fruits presented by the people of Kukuh.

People coming with their children took the fruit and distributed it to the flock of monkeys. The fruits were directly invaded by monkeys. They looked tame. After getting the fruits, the monkeys jumped into the tree, while another flock came forward to pick up the fruits. The beautiful moments when people were besieged by monkeys became the target of camera of photographers, including tourists. They were happy to capture the moment of tame monkeys at Alas Kedaton. (kmb)

4

Bali News

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

International

Hit by drought

Despair as crippling drought hammers Australian farmers

Residents of some villages forced to buy clean water

BANGLI - Residents at a number of villages in Kintamani began to face clean water difficulties in the past month. This happens due to the arrival of dry season. To meet the needs of clean water, they are forced to buy it from merchant at quite expensive price up to hundreds of thousands of rupiahs. It is done because the supply of rainwater in the cistern owned by residents has run thin.

Luh Tuti Wulandari, a resident of Bubung hamlet, Abang Batudinding, Kintamani, for instance, when met at her home on Tuesday (Aug. 7) claimed to have started buying clean water since the last month. She is forced to buy water for cooking and bathing needs because the rainwater supply previously accommodated in the cistern has been running thin and insufficient.

She admitted the price of clean water purchased is quite expensive, namely IDR 250,000 per four large barrels. Normally, the water she buys is enough to meet the needs for 15 days. “If used efficiently, the water can be used for more than 15 days,” she said.

She admitted that other residents also do the same thing. To get clean water in the area of Bubung hamlet, she said there is actually a spring that can be taken advantage by the

residents but the discharge is very small. To get one bucket of water, people must wait for up to an hour.

In addition, they must be patiently waiting in line with others. Other than for cooking and toilet needs, people also ordinarily buy water for livestock needs. “Here, people are used to buying water during dry season,” he added.

Other than Tuti, the difficulty to get clean water during dry season is also experienced by the operator of Abang Erawang tourist attraction.

A local officer, Nyoman Toko, said that his management has difficulty to get clean water to meet the toilet needs. To fulfill the needs for two days, it needs clean water up to two tanks. He must spend adequate money to buy water so it has an effect on the income earned. “A lot of funds are disbursed to meet the needs of clean water for tourists,” he said. (kmb40)

Mohd RASFAN / AFP

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak (C) leaves Duta court complex in Kuala Lumpur on August 8, 2018.

IBP/kmb

Residents at a number of villages in Kintamani began to face clean water difficulties in the past month.

Traditional regatta on Kerobokan Beach

SINGARAJA - A total of 70 participants representing fishermen groups from five sub-districts in Buleleng took part in the

traditional regatta on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

This regatta is one of the activities having become a fixed agenda to celebrate the 73rd

IBP/kmb38

Dozens of traditional boats (jukung) competed from Kerobokan Beach, Sawan and ended on Bina Ria Beach, Lovina.

anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia’s Independence Day 2018. Dozens of traditional boats (jukung) competed from Kerobokan Beach, Sawan and ended on Bina Ria Beach, Lovina.

It is not just looking for the fastest boat, but also meant to instill a maritime spirit among younger generations of Buleleng.

Moreover, the sea retains a great potential other than agriculture in the broader sense which becomes a mainstay of North Bali. For this reason, the competition is organized, so that fishermen or all the community components can jointly maintain the preservation and cleanliness of the beach.

Deputy Regent of Buleleng, Nyoman Sutjidra, after opening the traditional regatta stated the beach in the region is the longest in Bali so it offers a great potential for community welfare. This great potential must be continuously explored, especially in attracting young people to manage and develop the potential of North Bali. One of the efforts is by introducing the maritime potential of Buleleng through traditional regatta regularly held every year.

“We must take advantage of it properly for our young generation in the future, and competition like this is a part to instill a maritime spirit among young people because the sea has a great potential that can be managed for

13

our mutual prosperity,” he explained.

Head of the Buleleng Fisheries Agency, Ni Made Arnika, said that 70 participants took part in the traditional regatta consisting of fishermen groups in Sawan, Buleleng, Banjar, Seririt subdistrict and representatives of fishermen groups in Gerokgak subdistrict.

After participating in the regatta, the participant number 044 on behalf of Saiful Rahman with Rahmat Hidayat from the Sinar Bahari Fishermen Group of Banjar subdistrict became the fastest participant with a time record of 1:53:00. Both received trophy, certificates and cash worth IDR 6 million.

Nursalim teaming up with Aziz from Satria Samudra fisherman group, Sawan subdistrict, won the second place. Both of them took 1:53:07 to finish line, while the Bhineka Bahari fishermen group from Sawan subdistrict on behalf of Sadikin and Sudirja came out as the third winner with a time record of 1:55:41. The second and third participants received trophies, certificates and cash respectively IDR 5 million and IDR 4 million.

Aside from traditional regatta, the event was also jazzed up with catching duck competition. A total of 50 ducks were released at the finish location, so that they could entertain the audience in the Bina Ria Lovina Beach area. (kmb38)

Malaysian ex-PM Najib charged with money-laundering

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges Wednesday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May. Appearing at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from a former unit of scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. These are in addition to the charges he faced last month after he was first arrested -- three for criminal breach of trust and a separate count that he abused his position to take the money.

The 65-year-old, who is free on bail, has denied all the charges.

Malaysia’s new government is probing allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, which was set up and overseen by Najib, in an audacious fraud that spanned the globe.

Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the electoral earthquake in May that toppled Najib’s long-ruling

coalition and ushered in a reformist alliance headed by his 93year-old former mentor Mahathir Mohamad.

In a packed courtroom, the three new charges were read out to Najib. Asked if he understood them, Najib -- dressed in a dark blue suit and looking tired -- said he did.

His case was transferred to another court, where he entered not guilty pleas, meaning he will stand trial. Trial dates will be fixed on Friday, the judge said.

- ‘Long live Najib’ As he left court, a handful of supporters shouted “long live Najib” while his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the toppled leader believed the case was driven by politics.

“I am confident of a fair trial for my client, but my client thinks

this is a political prosecution,” he told reporters.

Najib is facing a long time behind bars if found guilty -the money-laundering charges carry maximum jail terms of 15 years each, while the other four charges carry sentences of 20 years each.

The money-laundering charges allege 42 million ringgit stemming from illegal activities was transferred to Najib’s bank accounts between December 2014 and February 2015.

All the charges relate to fund transfers from SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB. The sums involved are just a fraction of the $681 million that was mysteriously transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts several years ago, sparking uproar in Malaysia. (afp)

MURRURUNDI - A crippling drought is ravaging vast tracts of Australia’s pastoral heartlands, decimating herds and putting desperate farmers under intense financial and emotional strain, with little relief in sight.

While the country is no stranger to “big drys” and its people have long had a reputation as resilient, the extreme conditions across swathes of Australia’s east are the worst in more than 50 years.

A smattering of rain earlier this week did little to ease one of the driest starts to the year on record, turning pastures to dust and destroying huge areas of grazing and crop lands.

With no feed, farmers have been forced to ship in grain or hay from other parts of the country to keep sheep and cattle alive, spending thousands of extra dollars a week just to stay afloat.

Some exhausted graziers spend hours each day hand-feeding their stock because the ground is too dry for grass to grow. Others have been forced to shoot starving cattle.

“They are shooting their stock because they don’t want them to suffer. They are shooting them because they just can’t afford to feed them anymore,” Tash Johnston, cofounder of charity Drought Angels, told AFP. Farmers have also had to ration water for their families and their herds because the dams on their properties are dry or nearly empty. Many face the prospect of abandoning their homes altogether -- some after being on the land for generations.

It is a scenario repeated across New South Wales state, where agriculture contributes more than

Aus$15 billion (US$11 billion) to the state’s economy annually, employing more than 77,000 people.

Authorities on Wednesday officially declared the entire state in drought.

Conditions are similarly dire in Queensland to the north, where the state government says nearly 60 percent of land is suffering drought conditions.

“This would be the first time in two generations, back to the 1930s, that we haven’t got a crop up in the autumn or winter time,” Greg Stones, who runs a small farm of cattle, sheep, grain and crops near drought-hit Gunnedah, a five-hour drive north of Sydney, told AFP. “The land is too dry... We’ve put cattle on the highway (near the farm) for the first time in my life (so) they get a bit of rough grass.”

With farmers facing ruin, the national government stepped in last weekend, pledging a Aus$190 million package of immediate relief measures.

It includes two lump sum payments worth up to Aus$12,000 per household, and changes to an assets test to grant support to thousands more farmers.

There was also cash for counselling and mental health services, with drought-related stress and even suicide a mounting concern, compounded by the isolation many feel on their remote properties.

“We are the land of droughts and flooding rains. We recognise that. It’s a very volatile and often capricious climate and Australian farmers are resilient, they plan for drought, they are good managers but it can become really overwhelming,” said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (afp)

SAEED KHAN / AFP

This photo taken on August 7, 2018 shows sheep grazing on a dry paddock in the drought-hit area of Duri in New South Wales. A crippling drought is ravaging parts of Australia, decimating herds and putting desperate farmers under intense financial and emotional strain, with little relief in sight.

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Thursday, August 9, 2018

Health

International

Experts question benefits of fluoridefree toothpaste

BIRMINGHAM - Dental health experts worry that more people are using toothpaste that skips the most important ingredient — fluoride — and leaves them at a greater risk of cavities.

Most toothpastes already contain fluoride. While health authorities recognize fluoride as a cavity blocker, the internet is dotted with claims, often from “natural” toothpaste marketers and advocates for alternative medicine, that fluoride-free toothpaste also prevents cavities.

Dental authorities disagree.

“It’s really important to debunk this idea that brushing your teeth stops decay. You need to have the fluoride,” said Damien Walmsley, a scientific adviser to the British Dental Association and a dentistry professor at the University of Birmingham in England.

That view was underscored this week by an article in the dental journal Gerodontology that reviewed the scientific literature on cavities. Its primary conclusion is that without fluoride, oral hygiene efforts have “no impact” on cavity rates.

The idea that brushing teeth alone will not stop cavities has largely been accepted among individual researchers for decades, but not always by the public.

Dentists generally recommend fluoride for cavity fighting, but even some of them continue to believe that the mechanics of wiping your teeth clean of plaque also reduces cavities. The review findings, published Monday, gave pause to at least one of them.

“It violates certain principles we’ve been taught and that we teach and that we believe,” said Richard Niederman, a dentist and professor at New York University who saw an advance copy of the study and

found the findings credible. “What it says to me is that the toothbrush is just a delivery system.”

Few studies of the question have been carried out in recent years because the value of fluoride has been widely accepted for decades. In the review, University of Washington researchers looked for high-quality studies since 1950 and found just three. They were carried out in the U.S. and Great Britain and published from 1977 to 1981. They involved a total of 743 children aged 10 to 13 years who flossed and brushed for up to three years.

When the studies were evaluated statistically as a whole, there was no significant cavity reduction from simply brushing or flossing without fluoride.

Dentist J. Leslie Winston, oral care director for Crest toothpaste maker Procter & Gamble, said the review “serves as an important reminder.”

“Despite a large body of scientific evidence, there are growing numbers of consumers who believe that all toothpastes are the same and that as long as you clean your teeth effectively with a toothbrush or other device which cleans in-between the teeth, you can prevent decay,” he said in a statement.

The market share for fluoride-free toothpaste is closely held company data. Industry sources estimate it at no more than 5 percent of all toothpaste sold, but with projected growth of over 5 percent annually. On Monday, Tom’s of Maine antiplaque and whitening toothpaste, which is fluoride-free, was listed as the second-best-selling toothpaste on Amazon’s online buying platform.

Paul Jessen, a brand manager at Tom’s of Maine, said its fluoride-free products don’t promise to fight cavities. He said his company’s customers generally understand this. (afp)

IBP/net

Dental health experts worry that more people are using toothpaste that skips the most important ingredient — fluoride — and leaves them at a greater risk of cavities.

Bali News

International

Thursday, August 9, 2018

3

Looking at harvesting troupe

Giving birth to harmonization from a paddy field IBP/net

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified genetic mutations associated with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that generally requires extensive chemotherapy and and has lower five-year survival rates than other forms of breast cancer.

Genes linked to aggressive breast cancer identified

PEOPLE at risk of a tough-totreat, deadly form of breast cancer may now have a better chance of early diagnosis and protection against relapse.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified genetic mutations associated with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that generally requires extensive chemotherapy and and has lower five-year survival rates than other forms of breast cancer, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

“This study is the first to establish which genes are associated with high lifetime risks of triplenegative breast cancer,” said lead author and Mayo Clinic geneticist Dr. Fergus Couch.

The researchers analyzed genetic panels of almost 11,000 patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Five genetic mutations, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 and RAD51D, were linked to a high risk of triple-negative and a 20 percent lifetime risk of any breast cancer. Two other genes were tied to a more moderate risk of triple-negative.

Previous studies have found some of these genetic variants in triple-negative breast cancer patients but the new research establishes the connection in greater detail and identifies two genes linked to triple-negative, RAD51D and BARD1, which were previously thought only to be associated with ovarian cancer, Couch said.

With the new findings, patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer will be able to screen for the associated genes, which may indicate how likely the disease is to recur. If the gene mutations are found, patients would qualify for additional monitoring through MRI

and mammography, alternating each one every six months, according to Couch.

Dr. Sandra Swain, who specializes in cancer and genomics research at Georgetown University Medical Center, called the study results significant.

“Triple-negative is hard to treat and has low survival rates, especially in a recurrence,” Swain, who was not part of the study, told NBC News. “It’s really exciting discovering more and more genes that can help with treatment.”

However, beyond women or men who have been diagnosed with triple-negative, it’s undetermined who should be screened for the genetic mutations, Swain said. Over 30 percent of the triple negative patients in the study had no family history of breast cancer and other risk factors aren’t well understood.

“Unless we start testing everyone for these genes, it’s unclear how we can effectively screen for first-time cases,” Swain said.

Triple-negative accounts for 15-20 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses. Black women are more than twice as likely to develop this aggressive form than white women.

The study found the same prevalence of problematic genes in both groups. Black women, however, were only about 12 percent of the patients in the study.

“Why this is more common in African-American women is something of a mystery,” Couch told NBC News.

But, for now, a crucial piece of the puzzle is in place.

“Some of these genes showed up on genetic panels, and doctors didn’t know what to do with them,” Couch said. “Now, they won’t be ignored, and patients will benefit.” (net)

HARVESTING troupe (sekaa manyi) remains to survive in Klungkung district even though the agricultural technology has developed rapidly. The troupe consisting of women has its own story. What is that like?

Paddy at Subak Lepang, Takmung village, Banjarangkan, Klungkung, thrives. The leaves are still green, but the grains have turned yellow and very low indicating to have a good quality. They are swaying as blown by strong sea breezes.

A number of people come to approach in conical bamboo hat. Complete with shocks in legs, long-sleeved shirts and pants, they are ready to harvest.

Starting from the edge, armed with rice knife, each clump of the rice is cut. Half of the stalk is left and only taken from the base of the leaf. Their hands move fast. When the grip has been full, it is gathered together and then put into threshing machine. The leaves and grains come out separately.

There is something attractive about their activities. They do not continuously focus on cutting rice but also interspersed with chatting about various topics. Every now and then, they laugh as well. A harmonization can emerge from plot of paddy field. Apparently, they have forgotten the ever-stinging sunshine and the itching caused by grass.

One of the rice harvesters is Made Sarniti who is happy to share her story. She has been getting involved in this job for nine years when her first child was small. “I have been doing this for a long time. Previously, I wove shawls,” she said recently.

She departs to paddy field around 8:00 in the morning simultaneously with other members. In the afternoon, around 17:00, she just returns home. Fatigue is definitely felt especially when the harvest location is far from highway as having to carry the rice so far. “Luckily, there has been a machine to thresh. So, it is made much easier. In the past, when using manual tools, we were more tired,” she said.

This work is not carried out every day but adjusted to harvest season. She is not confused to think about whose paddy field to go and only follows the request of middlemen.

“We just wait for the information,” said this brown-skinned woman.

The wages earned are not calculated daily but based on the amount of harvest. For one ton of rice, the wage is in the range IDR 650,000. This amount is not intended for single worker but must be divided by six to seven other people.

“It’s enough to add to our needs at home,” she explained. She also admitted to join this troupe in order to get friends to chat with. Various stories can be shared. “At home, we have no

one to chat with. So, here I can share with others,” she added.

Another story was expressed by Wayan Tlabah. This wrinkle-skinned man said to participate in many harvesting works in order to get additional income as farmer other than filling in his spare time. “Right now, my own paddy has not been harvested yet. So, I come here to get additional income.

It’s been a long time,” he said.

He also recounted that his rice harvest is not enough for living supplies. Every harvest season he can only get IDR 1 million after waiting for three months. If the weather is bad, crop failure often haunts. “It’s difficult to be a farmer now,” he concluded. (sos)

IBP/sos

Harvesting troupe (sekaa manyi) remains to survive in Klungkung district even though the agricultural technology has developed rapidly.

Create funding schemes for documentary films

MANGUPURA — The Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), In-Docs and Go-Jek created the first funding scheme for documentary films in Indonesia. This year, through the Docs By The Sea event they will facilitate a new form of funding for documentary films which have never existed before.

Head of Legal and Public Communication Bureau of the Bekraf, Mariaman Purba, said the first funding scheme for documentary films is named Docs By The Sea Co-Production Fund. This funding is aimed to encourage the creation of quality documentary films through mentorship program, distribution schemes and funding. At the Docs By The Sea 2018, a total of 20 Indonesian documentary projects will compete to get funding, where the selection process will take place in Bali on August 7 – 9, 2018.

In the Docs By The Sea 2018 program, 31 documentary projects from Southeast Asia and one project from Australia will take part in a four-day incubation program. It is resumed with pitching forum and other industrial activities for three days. A total of 31 selected films will be presented to 35 donor agencies, television networks, distributors, and world platforms that need documentary films.

Directress of the In-Docs Program, Amelia Hapsari, said that In-Docs is a global forum connecting Indonesian and Southeast Asian documentary filmmakers to international documentary industry and investors.

In documentary film both in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, he is confident the establishment of strategic partnerships is the key. “Our strategy is to build strategic partnerships with industry experts and international institutions having the

same determination and vision in supporting the best stories that represent diverse perspectives to open up insight and inspire people,” she said.

Docs By The Sea is strengthened by the existence of strategic partnerships from all over the world. Together with the Tribeca Film Institute from the United States, Docs By The Sea also hosts the IF / Then program to support short documentaries. This program will provide funding and distribution support for four winning films. In addition to funding that will be provided by In-Docs and Tribeca Film Institute, Al-Jazeera will also select a winner whose film will be produced by this giant news network.

Strategic partnerships created through the Docs By The Sea program have a big impact, not only for Indonesia’s creative industry, but also for the wider community. (kmb42)

2

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Bali News

Following earthquake, 1,038 tourists evacuated to Benoa Harbor

DENPASAR - Hundreds of personnel from the Denpasar Police, Pelindo, Pelni, SAR and the Indonesian Navy secured the evacuation of tourists from Lombok (NTB) to Benoa Harbor, Denpasar following the earthquake on Sunady (Aug.5). As od Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 7), a total of 1,038 foreign and domestic tourists had arrived at Benoa Harbor after being transported by the Binaiya ship, the Bounty Cruise, KPLP I and 2 ship and the Patagonia ship.

Spokesperson for the Bali Police, Hengky Widjaja, said the ships transporting tourists from Lombok began to anchor in Benoa Harbor on Monday (Aug. 6) around 23:20 local time. The Binaiya ship carrying 86 passengers arrived first and anchored on the East Pier of Benoa Harbor. Then, it was followed by Bounty Cruise transporting 541 passengers and docked at Bounty Pier, Benoa Harbor, on Tuesday at 01:15.

After that, the ships anchoring were respectively the KPLP I Ship transporting 79 passengers, the KPLP 2 ship with 189 passengers and the Patagonia Ship with143 passengers.

“This afternoon at around 17:00, we expect the Pa-

tagonia Xpress Ship with a capacity of 190 passengers to dock. This ship is transporting tourists who were staying on the smaller islands in the NTB region”, said Widjaja on Tusday (Aug. 7).

The Bounty Cruise ship with a capacity of 500 passengers is also on stand-by waiting for passengers to be transported from Lombok. “If the number of passengers is less than 100 people, they will be transported by the Patagonia Ships”, added Widjaja.

Chief of the Denpasar Police, Hadi Purnomo, led the secure evacuation process. This three-jasmine officer even personally helped the tourists as they disembarked.

“This is a humanitarian effort to directly help earthquake victims in Lombok- both foreign tourists and Indonesian citizens”, he added.

The Denpasar Police are coordinating with the Indonesia Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI)’s Bali Chapter to involve all stakeholders in the evacuation process.

“We have coordinated with the PHRI and agreed to provide ambulances and buses to transport the evacuees to their respective hotels, domiciles or to get medical treatment if injured”, said Commissioner Hadi. (kmb36)

International

Handling earthquake damage

District govt provides IDR 2 billion in relief funds

GIANYAR - The earthquake in Lombok on Sunday (Aug. 5) caused the destruction of at least a dozen buildings in the district of Gianyar known for its arts. The district government has therfor set aside a disaster relief fund of DIR 2 billion that can be accessed by submitting a request.

“Gianyar’s district government of Gianyar through the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) is preparing a disaster management fund”, said Acting Regent of Gianyar, Made Gede Wisnu Wijaya, on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

Head of the BPBD Gianyar, Anak Agung Oka Digjaya, explained that they are still collecting daa about the number of buildings damaged in the earthquake. All subdistricts in Gianyar have recorded some damage.

“Our officers are still taking inventory of the damage. Buildings in almost all or subdistricts have been damaged”, said Digjaya, who added that they are working as fast as they can.

The estimate on losses incurred will allow Gianyar’s BPBD to ascertain the needs of people requesting assistance. “Requests for assistance can be addressed ot the

Regent, following which a team will verify the proposed request”, he explained.

Digjaya added that the BPBD will not bear the full cost of repairs requested but will provide limited assistance as encouragement. “We have prepared IDR 2 billion for this year, but obviously this is only to motivate people to make the repairs”, he explained.

The handling of the disaster relief fund, he said will not be complicated. When local residents submit a request for assistance the BPBD will immediately start the administrative process for disbursement. “We are waiting to see if there are any request. They will be processed immediately”, he said.

Disaster recovery has also been assisted by the Gianyar Police as carried out by the village non-commissioned police officer (Bhabinkamtibmas) for Kemenuh village, Sukawati, Ida Bagus Nyoman Darsa. Police helped remove debris from the wall that collapsed from the earthquake in I Gusti Ngruah Adi’s home shrine.

Adi is estimated to have suffered material losses of IDR 30 million. (kmb35)

Lombok earthquake causes losses of IDR 15 billion in Badung

The tourists arrived at Benoa Harbor after evacuated from Gili Islands

IBP/Ngurah Ken

MANGUPURA - The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 that shook North Lombok on Sunday night (Aug. 5) affected a number of public buildings and facilities in Bali’s district of Badung. The earthquake shock felt in Badung has caused estimated losses of up to IDR 15 billion.

Deputy Regent of Badung, Ketut Suiasa has responded by stating that the government of Badung will support the handling of the impact of the earthquake. Data is currently being collecting regarding people affected by the earthquake.

“So far, we have received reports on damage to houses and shrines estimated in the range of IDR 7 15 billion”, said Ketut Suiasa on Tuesday (Aug. 7).

Given that such disasters can occur at any time, this official from Pecatu Village has asked the public to take part in dealing with the

impacts as the government cannot work alone. “The impact includes both material and psychological impacts”, he said.

Suiasa added that a number of holy places in Badung also suffered severe damages due to the earthquake, including Pucak Mangu Temple. Some of the sacred structures such as the meru shrine along with the compound wall suffered severe damage while the split gates (candi bentar) suffered a crack.

“Since Pucak Mangu Temple is holding it’s pujawali or temple festival ceremony, this must be taken seriously”, he said.

The wantilan hall of the Desa Temple of Auman village also suffered severe damage from the earthquake. “This must also be handled immediately as this hall is not only used for local residents to meet, it also functions as a gamelan pavilion”, he said. (kmb27)

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Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Mudiarta, Gianyar: Manik Astajaya, Karangasem: Bagiarta, Klungkung: Sosiawan. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

International

Activities

Thursday, August 9, 2018

A NEW LOOK FOR ANA CROWNE PLAZA OSAKA’S “CAFÉ IN THE PARK”

ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka is pleased to launch the new look all day dining restaurant, CAFÉ IN THE PARK. It is the hotel’s main breakfast restaurant with capacity for 104 guests. This fresh, air-conditioned venue with its high ceiling has recently undergone a makeover and has now reopened its entrance doors to introduce an elegant, modern interior. The impressive design is the innovation of the Mr. Toshio Nagao.

CAFÉ IN THE PARK now flaunts a fresh and exciting new plumage based on contemporary modern design. It is structured with a texture of warm-grey stone and delicate black lines. The furniture is made of natural wood and soft baric using blue and yellow to express fun and joy. The carpet reflects the blue Mediterranean Sea and the ceilings are high providing guests with a sense of depth and peace.

The area from the entrance to the indoor dining space, to the buffet to the deli have been cleverly designed to generate a uniquely different mood.

Executive Chef Gennaro Avagnale hails from Italy and has worked for Michelin star restaurants and 5 star Luxury Hotels for 20 years. For the re-opening of CAFÉ IN THE PARK, he has personally selected the exclusive tableware from Europe and put together the menu with pride.

You will see his family’s recipes and cooking style reflected in the cuisine offered during lunch and dinner. Chef Gennaro is very passionate and you will be able to experience his love for Mediterranean cuisine during lunch and dinner buffet.

The restaurant serves an extensive buffet-style breakfast, which offers a vast choice of dishes to suit all tastes, including Japanese, Western and Asian hot and cold specialties, an egg station for à la minute egg dishes, a meat carvery, freshly-baked pastries and breads, as well as an espresso coffee station, fresh fruit and vegetable juice and more.

The all-day dining restaurant will offer Mediterranean themed buffet lunch and dinner. Some of the highlights offered during lunch and dinner will be cold buffet and monthly theme appetizers, freshly cooked Chef creation, authentic pasta dishes, hot Mediterranean flavored buffet, fish and meat market, where you can make your own choice and the Chefs will cook a la minute from the grill station, carving station, and Dulcis in Fundo enthusiastic and colorful dessert.

15

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

16 Pages Number 167 10th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Lady Gaga heads to Vegas with dual shows

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

Thursday, August 9, 2018

NEW YORK - Pop star Lady Gaga on Tuesday announced a residency in Las Vegas with twin shows to display her two sides -- extravagant and glitzy, and stripped back and jazzy.

At 32, Lady Gaga is unusually young and culturally prominent to launch a residency in Sin City, generally the preserve of older artists who either want to set up elaborate productions away from the rigors of the road or to cash in on the nostalgia of tourists.

Lady Gaga said her shows would begin on December 28 at the newly rebranded Park MGM, a giant complex on the Las Vegas Strip which was initially built as the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in the style of the Mediterranean gambling hub. The synth-pop star once known for her eyepopping attire and ultraextroverted sexuality plans two shows, with one, entitled “Lady Gaga Enigma,”

promising more of her theatrics.

“We’re creating a show unlike anything I’ve done before. It will be a celebration of all that is unique and different within us,” she said in a statement.

“The challenges of bravery can be overcome with creativity and courage that is grown out of adversity, love and music.”

The other show, “Lady Gaga Jazz and Piano,” will star her singing minimalist versions of her songs as well as pop standards.

Gaga refashioned her career four years ago when she teamed up with classic crooner Tony Bennett, who is six decades her senior.

She similarly adopted a more mature sound on her latest album, “Joanne,” which veered into country music with lyrics about family ties.

Lady Gaga announced “Enigma” shows through November 2019 with only a handful of the stripped-back concerts. (afp)

West Hollywood council says Trump’s Walk of Fame star must go LOS ANGELES - A small district of Los Angeles has asked that Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame be removed, in part because of the way he treats women.

The initiative by the city council of West Hollywood comes less than two weeks after the star was vandalized by a man with a pickax.

The body unanimously approved a motion urging the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

to remove the brass-rimmed star, which was installed in 2007 in recognition of Trump’s performance on the reality TV show “The Apprentice.”

West Hollywood is a liberal district with a large LGBT community and free- wheeling nightlife.

The council said the star must go because of Trump’s “disturbing treatment of women and other actions that do not meet the shared values of the City of West Hollywood, the region, state, and

country.”

However, the city council does not have jurisdiction over the Walk of Fame. It’s up to the Chamber of Commerce whether to remove the tribute to Trump.

In 2015, it rejected a request to remove the star of Bill Cosby, the once beloved comedian now convicted of sexual assault.

Trump’s star was also vandalized in October 2016 while he was the Republican candidate for president. (afp)

ADEK BERRY / AFP

A woman carries pillows through the rubble of damaged houses in Menggala, north Lombok on August 8, 2018, three days after the area was struck by an earthquake. More than 70,000 people left homeless by a deadly earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok are sleeping in makeshift shelters and lack food, medicine and clean water, officials said on August 8.

‘Why are they leaving me?’ Indonesian abandoned in quake chaos

DAVID MCNEW / AFP

In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, the new Hollywood Walk of Fame Star of US President Donald Trump nears completion after being destroyed by a vandal.

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Lying in agony with a broken leg at the entrance to a mosque in Lombok, Alimuddin screamed for help as a powerful earthquake brought down the building around him on Sunday.

“I tried to move my leg, lift it up, and that’s when I realised it was broken,” the 49-year-old, who goes by one name, told AFP from a stretcher outside a hospital in Mataram. It was only by chance that another congregant heard his desperate pleas for help and dragged him from the place of worship.

Alimuddin soon found himself at a nearby hospital, where overstretched medical staff fled his bedside after an aftershock triggered fears of a tsunami.

“I thought ‘Why are they leaving me behind?’ But I couldn’t blame them because they were trying to save themselves,” he said.

The medical staff later returned, only to abandon him again because another patient with a bleeding head wound needed urgent attention. Alimuddin’s ordeal underlines the chaotic scenes across Lombok, a volcanic island to the east of Bali, after the shallow 6.9-magnitude quake struck Sunday evening.

It killed at least 131 people and

damaged tens of thousands of buildings, just a week after another tremor in the holiday island killed 17 people.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims like Alimuddin are being treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other hard-hit areas. More than 156,000 people were displaced by the quake.

Local authorities, international NGOs and the central government have begun organising aid, but shattered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of Lombok, which was hardest hit.

There is a dire need for medical staff, food and medicine in

the worst-hit areas, according to Muhammad Zainul Majdi, the governor of West Nusa Tenggara province which covers Lombok.

“We have limited human resources. Some paramedics have to be at the shelters, some need to be mobile,” Majdi told AFP. The Indonesian Red Cross said it had set up 10 mobile clinics in the north of the island and field hospitals have been established in other areas.

But even in the main city of Mataram, the injured are staying in non-sterile environments and facing long delays for treatment.

Alimuddin was forced to spend the night in a hospital parking lot

before he was finally operated on.

His wife Maria Ulfa, who stood vigil, was exasperated by the delay -- but Alimuddin was taking a more philosophical view.

“Ultimately I surrender myself to God. This is what we call a calamity and we can’t prevent it,” he said. (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.