Edition Tuesday, June 11, 2019 | International Bali Post

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16 Pages Number 112 11th year

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

An early ‘Tintin’ cover sells at auction for $1.1 million

Don Emmert / AFP

Artist Lady Pink, “The first lady of graffiti,” paints a mural at Casita Maria on June 2, 2019 in the Bronx borough in New York.

‘First Lady’ of NY graffiti now a businesswoman

NEW YORK - When she began painting graffiti on New York subway cars at the age of 15, Lady Pink stood out as one of very few women in that illegal and dangerous subculture.

That was in 1979. Now, in her mid-50s, this petite woman with long, dark hair and hailing from the Amazon jungle in Ecuador has been making an above-board living from her art for decades and proudly declares herself a businesswoman. She has been called the “First Lady” of graffiti.

“New York was ruined. There was a lot of crime and corruption, and everything looked terrible. We adolescents set out to beautify the city,” Lady Pink -real name Sandra Fabara -- told AFP in an interview in the Bronx, where she is painting a mural on the wall of Casita Maria, a community center for young Hispanics.

Whereas the teen-aged Fabara had to dodge the authorities as she practiced her craft, she now is being guarded by a policeman while she paints, because an angry neighbor made a death threat against her.

Fabara was featured in a classic film about graffiti, “Wild Style” (1982), and is one of 21 street artists whose work adorned -- before being whitewashed in 2013 -- the outside of a factory-turned-canvas in the Queens borough that was called 5Pointz.

A court ruled last year that the artists should receive $6.75 million in damages for the loss of their work; New York law protects public art of “recognized stature.”

But the owner of the building, who eventually tore it down to build luxury condos, appealed and there is still no final verdict.

“The judicial system has never been very fair with graffiti or street artists. I do not expect it to be now,” said Fabara.

WASHINGTON - An original drawing used for the first published “Tintin” cover was sold at auction on Saturday in Dallas for $1.12 million, the Heritage Auctions house told AFP. The identities of seller and buyer have not been released.

The illustration, by Tintin creator Herge (the pseudonym of Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi), shows the plucky young reporter sitting on a tree stump carving a makeshift propeller for his plane after the original was damaged in a rough landing somewhere in the Soviet Union. His faithful dog Snowy (Milou in the original French) sits and watches, bandaged from tail to nose.

The beloved Tintin books have been translated into more than 70 languages, but in 1929, 22-yearold Herge was still telling the young journalist’s story in the pages of Le Petit Vingtieme (The Little Twentieth), a kids’ supplement to the Belgian daily Le Vingtieme Siecle (The Twentieth Century).

The serialized Tintin stories proved so popular that soon Le Petit Vingtieme published them in 16-page installments instead of the

original eight, and on February 13, 1930, Tintin made the cover.

It was only a few months later that the first book in what was to be a series of two dozen -- “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets” -- was published. More than 200 million Tintin books have now been sold worldwide.

Most of the old Tintin cover illustrations are on display at the Herge museum in the Belgian town of Louvain-la-Neuve, according to a text in the Heritage Auctions catalogue by Philippe Goddin, who has written several books about Tintin and Herge, including a seven-volume chronology.

The drawing sold Saturday, in India ink and gouache, was signed

by Herge. A Heritage Auctions spokesman told AFP the illustration, which turned up in Brussels, was one of the “rare cover illustrations signed by Herge in private hands,” as well as the oldest.

The author and artist -- who often set his Tintin tales in the most exotic of locales -- rarely left Belgium in his lifetime. He died in 1983.

Other Tintin works have also drawn big paydays at auction, with some surpassing $1.5 million. (afp)

- Adventure by Night -

Lady Pink got into this kind of thing when her first boyfriend, a graffiti artist, was arrested.

He was then sent to live with relatives in Puerto Rico, which left Fabara heartbroken. She started painting his name on the walls of her school, and eventually his graffiti buddies took her in and started teaching her technique.

“I would crawl out the window with a bag of paint and go to the roughest neighborhoods of New York in the middle of the night, all alone, to meet up with my friends and go to an even worse neighborhood where they park the trains. We would go into the train tunnels and dark alleys where God knows what awaits you,” Fabara said of the period, from 1979 to 1985.

HO / Heritage Auctions / (C) Herge-Moulinsart 2019 / AFP

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This image courtesy of of Heritage Auctions (HA.com) and released June 8, 2019, shows the February 13, 1930, first cover appearance of Tintin, from artist Hergé’s “The Adventures of Tintin Vol. 1: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.”

The cover sold at auction in Dallas, Texas, on June 8, 2019, for $1,125,000.

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

AP Photo/Luis Vieira

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo lifts up the trophy as he celebrates with players after winning the UEFA Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Netherlands at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, June 9, 2019.

Portugal defeat Netherlands to win first Nations League

Portugal added the inaugural Nations League title to their Euro 2016 triumph as Goncalo Guedes’s strike on the hour won an underwhelming final 1-0 against the Netherlands in Porto on Sunday.

The Dutch defensive pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt largely kept Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, but Valencia winger Guedes proved the match winner as his shot had too much power for Jasper Cillessen in the Netherlands goal.

“Thank god things have gone well for the national team in recent years.

Portugal has won important things like Euro 2016 and now the League of Nations,” said Ronaldo.

“It may seem like an easy job but it’s hard, it takes a lot of dedication and willingness. I think the players deserve to be congratulated.”

Portugal had the advantage of an

extra day’s rest and not being forced to extra time against Switzerland in their semi-final as the Dutch were in seeing off England on Thursday.

And the hosts looked the fresher throughout with Ronald Koeman’s men jaded at the end of a long season.

“If we were tired I don’t know, but we were not good enough,” admitted Koeman.

“They defended well and the were very compact in their game, but you have to be better with the ball and we were not.”

The match had been billed as a showdown between Ronaldo and Van Dijk but with the Dutch captain

again rock solid at the back, Portugal’s main threat came from midfield with Bernardo Silva rightfully winning player of the tournament.

“I’m very happy, very proud. It’s my first title with my country,” said Silva, who also won an English domestic treble with Manchester City this season.

“Thank you to the Portuguese people, what a night for us, what a night for the country!” Silva provided the one true moment of quality to decide the game.

He broke through the Dutch defence and then picked out Guedes, who bravely ignored playing in

Ronaldo to drill a low shot past Cillessen himself.

“If you want to win you have to play well, and if Portugal won we had to play well, whether it was handsome or not,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

The Netherlands have made huge strides in just over a year since Koeman took charge after missing out on even qualifying for the last two tournaments.

After overcoming world champions France and Germany in the group stages, Koeman’s men also outclassed England in the semi-finals.

However, unlike in midweek when Frenkie de Jong dominated the midfield against the English, Holland’s latest Barcelona-bound star was unable to seize control of

the game and their lack of a topclass striker left the Dutch toothless up front.

“We’ve made a lot of progress.

We have to be very proud of ourselves; now disappointment is in our heads but we have to keep the heads up,” said Van Dijk.

“It’s been a good season but hopefully next season is going to be even better. That’s the only thing I’m striving for.” (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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Bali News

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

Balinese native weaving fabrics worried to extinct next five to ten years

THERE is an embroidery fabric technique currently favored by Balinese people because of its cheaper price. Surely, it is worried to cause the original Balinese woven fabric to go extinct in the next five to ten years. This is quite unfortunate considering that Balinese woven fabric is a cultural heritage that should be preserved.

To be able to maintain this Balinese cultural heritage, Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council (Dekranasda), Mrs. Putri Suastini Koster, invited small and medium industry (IKM) craftsmen and players, especially those applying embroidery techniques, to create their own designs and never imitate the designs of Balinese woven fabrics, mainly the existing songket.

This was explained by Putri Koster when briefing the participants of Bali Arts Festival (BAF) exhibition on Sunday

(Jun. 9) at the Ksiraarnawa Hall of the Bali Art Center. She affirmed that in the past Bali was able to provide clothing needs from upstream to downstream. This means that from the supply of raw materials to the weavers were all available. “Today, the cotton tree as the upstream of raw material for our yarn has gone and must be provided from outside.

Unavoidably, the weavers are threatened with extinction in next five to ten years because consumers rarely buy the products,” she said.

The threat of extinction against Balinese weavers affecting the extinction of the original Balinese woven fabric happened due to the rise of embroidery techniques on cloth where the motif follows the Balinese weaving motif, especially the songket motif passed down from generation to generation.

“Now, there are many embroidery techniques taking the songket motif. This product is compared by consumers,” said Putri Koster.

For housewives becoming consumers will definitely choose embroidery techniques because other than being cheaper, the appearance is also similar to the woven fabric where the motif is the same and the thread is shinier. As comparison, the price of embroidery fabrics is around IDR 400,000 to IDR 500,000, while woven fabrics with cagcag techniques can cost up to millions to tens of millions. Such minimal interest of consumers in buying Balinese woven fabrics and the switch to embroidered fabrics will eventually eliminate the Balinese woven fabric business. “Within five or ten years from now, weavers in Bali will shut down their business because their products are rarely bought,” said Putri Koster.

In order to develop together and preserve Balinese woven fabrics, Putri Koster invited craftsmen and SME business people in the fabric field to create their own motif for embroidery fabrics. For woven fabrics, the existing motif needs to be reconstructed and reproduced so there is diversity and sustainability. Another way is that small and medium industry of embroidery fabrics must encourage consumers to wear embroidered fabrics for clothing because of its lighter texture while heavy woven fabrics are used for kamen or sarong. “If carried out together, we surely can improve welfare evenly, both the woven and embroidered fabric craftsmen,” hoped Putri Koster.

One of the embroidery cloth small and medium industry players, Jro Puspawati Saskara, agreed with the idea of Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council (Dekranasda).

According to her, as a small and medium industry player selling embroidery technique so far she has been selling her own motives and never imitates the existing woven fabric techniques.

Jro Puspa added that currently Balinese weavers are also very hard to be found because the results of their works are seldom sold. Finally, most weavers switch to other professions, one of which is working as handphone counter attendant. “They are more proud to be handphone counter attendant than being weavers. Therefore, I strongly support the invitation of Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council to make own motif for embroidered fabrics to preserve Balinese woven fabrics,” she said. (kmb24)

Mangupura Badung Declaration of anti-plastic bags

Customary villages hoped to participate actively MANGUPURA - To reduce the use of plastic bags, the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) summoned all the chiefs of customary village in Badung for the Mangupura Declaration, Badung Anti-Plastic Bag on Sunday (Jun. 9) at the DLHK office, Badung Civic Center. Through the declaration, all customary villages in Badung are expected to play an active role in reducing the plastic bags use based on local wisdom.

Head of the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency, I Putu Eka Merthawan, explained that commitment of Badung district

government, in this case the regent of Badung, to fighting plastic waste has been done from the beginning.

He stated that two Regent Regulations were simultaneously issued as legal basis in the implementation of reducing plastic waste. They are Regent Regulation No. 48/2018 concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling through Waste Bank, and Regent Regulation No. 47/2018 concerning Reduction on the Use of Plastic Bags.

Interestingly, Badung implements the regulation by involving local wisdom where the reduction

on the use of plastic bags is set forth in the awig-awig or perarem bylaw of the customary village concerned.

He explained the Regent Regulation No.47/2018 more specifically regulates the reduction in the use of plastic bags as one of the main sources of plastic waste.

“To implement this Regent Regulation, we highlight local wisdom by involving customary villages.

Article 3 states that regulation of customary village in the area of antiplastic bag based on local wisdom handled by customary village must be governed in the awig-awig or prarem of local customary village,”

explained Eka Merthawan.

He said that by involving customary village, the implementation of the Regulation on Reducing the Use of Plastic Bags will be more effective. In this case, the customary village will be made into a bumper to convince the world about the sanitation problem in the environment, especially the one related to the problem of reducing plastic waste.

This is very important so that tourists are not afraid or hesitant to come to Bali. “To start reducing the use of plastic bags, customary village is expected to play an active role.

Besides, the perarem or appendix

of customary village’s bylaw must also include the reduction of plastic bags,” he said.

For this reason, his agency gave approximately six months to all customary villages to draft the perarem.

So this year, 122 customary villages in Badung are expected to have the same system to regulate the use of plastic bags. “We made a declaration and all put their signatures. A total of 122 chiefs of customary village in Badung convinced themselves through the Mangupura Declaration. This is Badung’s commitment to reducing the use of plastic bags,” he concluded. (kmb23)

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International

Activities

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

STHALA UBUD WELCOMES THE FAMILY OF VIETJET AIR

Sthala, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Ubud Bali, a 5-star hotel managed by Marriott International welcomes the family of Vietjet Air during the inaugural flight from Ho Chi Minh to Bali on Friday, 31 May 2019.

Vietjet Air officially launched its new route from the largest city in Vietnam to one of the world most favorite holiday destinations on 29 May 2019, and landed safely at the Ngurah Rai International Airport carrying 180 passengers at 01.05 pm local time during the airline’s debut flight.

On Friday, 31 May 2019, Vietjet Air VIP group have arrived at Sthala Ubud Bali at 5.30 pm Bali time to stay at the hotel and enjoy the charm of beautiful culture and nature of Ubud. The group’s arrival was welcomed by the Panyembrama dance, Balinese unique welcome dance performed by a group of skillful female dancers accompanied by live music of Balinese gamelan.

This low-cost carrier offers new direct service which operates five return flights every week from Vietnam to Bali and uses the Airbus A320-A320 neo aircraft that can accommodate 180 to 230 passengers.

Deputy of Marketing Development I Ministry of Tourism, Rizky Handayani said, this new route is important to significant growth for Indonesian Tourism. “I really believe this new route will be mutually beneficial. First, it certainly can increase the flow of international visitors from Vietnam to Bali. Also vice versa, international visitors arrive from Indonesia to Ho Chi Minh City,” he said as quoted from Kontan, Thursday (05/30) According to statistics from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, there were 75,632 tourist arrivals from Vietnam in 2018, less than one percent of Vietnam’s total outbound tourists last year. The authorities are targeting to have more arrivals from its Southeast Asian neighbor, bringing it up by at least 32 percent this year to top 100,000 Vietnamese tourists this year.

By the opening of new route to Bali from Ho Chi Minh City, Vice President of Vietjet, Nguyen Thanh Son believes that the new route will not only create opportunities for people to travel by safe, civilized and modern air transportation but also links two cities known as economic and cultural centers of Vietnam and Indonesia. This new route will also reinforce the connectivity to Indonesia, which can lead to the expected increment of visitors from Vietnam.

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Science

International

Bali News

International

Chemicals in biodegradable food containers can leach into compost INDIANA - Composting biodegradable food containers cuts the amount of trash that gets sent to a landfill. But the practice may serve up some unintended consequences for human health.

That’s because the items often contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to help repel water and oil. These persistent chemicals can leach out of the packaging and end up in compost, researchers report May 29 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. When that compost is used, PFAS could be taken up by plants and ultimately accumulate in the bodies of people, though the health effects are still unclear.

The scientists measured perfluoroalkyl acids, or PFAAs, a subset of PFAS formed by microbial degradation, in compost from 10 commercial facilities. Seven of these facilities accepted compostable food containers, and three didn’t. With the food containers in the mix, the team measured PFAAs at concentrations from about 29 to 76 micrograms per kilogram of compost, while compost from facilities that didn’t accept the containers contained less than 8 micrograms PFAAs per kilogram of compost.

“There was a huge difference in the PFAS levels between those two groups,” says Laurel Schaider, an environmental chemist and public health researcher at Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Mass., not involved in the study. People expect

IBP/net

A worrisome class of chemicals called PFAS are found in some compostable food containers and many other consumer items like nonstick cookware. The compounds can leach out of the containers and build up in compost.

the things they compost to break down entirely and become a sustainable source of nutrients for plants, so it’s concerning that chemicals in compostable items can persist, she says.

As a class, PFAS include thousands of compounds, many with useful properties. They show up in flame-retardant carpets, in nonstick coatings on cookware and myriad other places. “Everybody’s happy to have all those conveniences, but the trade-off … is pretty huge because [the compounds] don’t go away,” says Linda Lee, an environmental fate chemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Microbes can usually help break down chemicals in general, but for this persistent bunch, the organisms typically transform the compounds into other PFAS. A chain of carbon forms the backbone of PFAS to which fluorine atoms are attached. Lee and colleagues found that most of the PFAS in compost samples were shorter-chain ones rather than more notorious, longer-chained perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, which have been largely phased out in the United States. Shorter-chain PFAS don’t hang out as long in the body as their longer cousins, but they can more easily move from organic material in soil to water and be taken up by plants.

Studies have linked PFAS to negative health effects including high cholesterol, lowered fertility and birth weight, as well as testicular and kidney cancer, Schaider says. But only a handful of PFAS, including PFOS and PFOA, have been thoroughly investigated for their potential health effects.

Little is known about how most of the ones detected in the compost samples affect human health.

The researchers analyzed the compost because Washington state was concerned that it might have been a mistake to allow composting of food containers. In part because of the team’s results, the state passed the Healthy Food Packaging Act, which bans PFAS in paper food packaging beginning in 2022 if the state can find something to replace the compounds.

“It’s a really strong study,” says Jennifer Guelfo, an environmental engineer at Texas Tech University in Lubbock not involved in the research. With this information on which PFAS show up in compost, scientists can start to figure out what health risks might be associated with those chemicals, and if the chemicals should be used in this type of packaging at all, she says. “Now is the time to look at the uses of these compounds … and limit their uses to those scenarios where they are absolutely needed.” (net)

Tiny structures in dragonfish teeth turn them into invisible daggers

CALIFORNIA - In the deep sea, dragonfish lure smaller fish near their gaping jaws with beardlike attachments capped with a light. But the teeth of the pencil-sized predators don’t gleam in that glow.

Instead, dragonfish teeth are transparent and hard to see, thanks to nanoscale structures that reduce the amount of light scattered by the teeth, researchers report June 5 in Matter.

The clear daggers vanish into the animals’ dark mouths, probably to help dragonfish surprise their prey, says study coauthor Marc Meyers, a materials scientist at the University of California, San Diego. “They are mini-monsters of the ocean.”

The teeth of dragonfish are similar to those of most animals: They contain a dense outer layer of enamel-like material that coats a hard tissue called dentin. But nano-

structures in both layers set these tiny chompers apart from others’ pearly whites.

Transmission electron microscopy of the teeth of one dragonfish species (Aristostomias scintillans) revealed tiny crystals, around 20 nanometers in size, in the enamel.

In the dentin, the researchers found nanosized rods of the protein collagen coated with the mineral hydroxyapatite. If bigger, such structures would scatter light, but because of their small size, the light passes by with less being deflected, the scientists say. The teeth themselves are also very thin, which also helps transmit light.

Dragonfish aren’t the only creatures with transparent teeth, but this is the first study to look at how such teeth interact with light, Meyers says. The scientists captured the fish with a net from their ocean abode at a depth of around 500 meters. (net)

IBP/net

The spearlike teeth of deep-sea dragonfish are translucent, thanks to nanostructures that allow more light to pass through.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

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Wayang Wong of Griya Penida

Sacred art maintaining ancient style

WAYANG Wong art in Jembrana develops in Griya Penida, Anyar hamlet, Batuagung.

This art is one of the ancestral sacred arts passed down through hundreds of years. The Wayang Wong troupe with old masks struggled to still exist in the midst of the onslaught of modernization.

IBP/wit

The visits to tourist attractions in Gilimanuk Bay experienced an increase during the Eid holidays.

Visit to Gilimanuk Bay attraction increases on long holidays

NEGARA - The visits to tourist attractions in Gilimanuk Bay experienced an increase during the Eid holidays. Visitors are not only local tourists but domestic and foreign tourists that intentionally came to enjoy the nature of the region of Makepung or buffalo races. One of them is a visit to the tourist attraction in the area of Gilimanuk Bay, Melaya.

Since last week, the visit of tourist wishing to enjoy the natural panorama at Shiva Park, marine tourism and mangrove tours increased. In addition to Jembrana residents, there were also visitors from a number of regions in East Java and some foreign tourists.

In addition to the beautiful natural scenery of West Bali, the ease of access to the location is also a consideration for tourists coming to vacation in Gilimanuk Bay. Soni Yudikusuma, 31, one of the visitors, admitted the visit to the tourist attraction, also known as Secret Bay, had increased since the beginning of the long Eid holidays.

According to him, before the Eid, the visitors mostly consisted of young people from Jembrana and Buleleng. But after the feast day the visit increased, and many come from Java with their families. There were also some foreign tourists. He said that visitors were interested in enjoying marine tourism and mangrove tours.

In this Gilimanuk Bay tourist attraction, there are dozens of jukung or traditional boat serving visitors that will enjoy marine tourism and mangrove tours. Although the visits increase when compared to the usual days, according to him, the boat operators from community groups coalesced into the Paguyuban Wisata Tirta do not raise their rental rates.

He said that they usually get only 3 trips, but for this holiday they get up to seven trips.

“The tariff is fixed namely IDR 150,000 for 10 people in once trip,” he said. After the long Eid holidays, he hoped the visit to Gilimanuk Bay will increase again during the weekend breaks.

Asanudin, 45, from Jember, East Java, claimed to have come along with his family to enjoy the natural atmosphere of West Bali at Gilimanuk Bay. He said the access to Gilimanuk Bay is now very easy. “By riding a train, the ticket is only IDR 8,000 and does not take him up to two hours, he has arrived in Ketapang. Then, he just needs to cross directly,” said this factory worker.

Meanwhile, a tourist guide who escorted European guests, Dewa Adi, said that foreign tourists are attracted to West Bali because of its natural beauty.

According to him, foreign tourists name Jembrana as the virgin Bali, where the beauty of its nature and the life of local people will become its own attraction. (kmb)

This mask drama with religious and sacred nuances remains to maintain the old style aged hundreds of years. From the beginning, the performance of this Wayang Wong is not for commercial use but for religious rituals (yadnya) taking segments of the Ramayana epic. Besides, the mask drama is not played in full because it requires players up to 50 people and the story is long.

Senior figure of Griya Penida, Batuagung village, Ida Bagus Putra, recently said that such art is estimated to have developed since the ancestors came to Batuagung in 1800. Aside from the 50 unique masks, the group also still maintains a set of gamelan, including gender, drums and cymbals.

For a long time, the sacred masks have not been used and are stored in the wooden box (container of puppets) in Griya Penida. Due to lack of regeneration, the art closely related to the arrival of senior figures of Griya Penida had vacuumed for several years. Finally, disaster happened and psychical things starting from flash floods, diseases to long drought were experienced by residents of the hamlet and the old village in Jembrana. After that, it was traced psychically by senior figures, and they got revelation if the disaster arose because there were 50 heirlooms of masks in unused wooden box.

It was true when the box was opened, where some masks were found to have lost. Two masks, namely the Maruti and Tualen were found by a resident being submerged in a niche of Tukadaya River crossing the hamlet. The masks were known to belonging to the Griya Penida (family) so they were returned. Ultimately, the masks gathered again in the box. Since then, there has been a desire to pay attention to, care for and perform the masks according to the existing order. Today, the box is stored in the family shrine of Griya Penida. After collecting the masks, the calamities experienced in succession gradually recovered and returned to normal.

“Performance is only made in particular time, tell-

ing the Ramayana epic along with ape troops, so there are about 50 kinds of masks,” explained the IB Putra.

Each wayang wong mask has different design from the others. Puppet figures in the Ramayana include the Maruti, Sugriwa, Subali, Anggada, Nila, Rahwana, Kumbakarna, demon troops, Merdah, Sangut and Delem.

Other than by the family of Griya Penida, it is also often performed by the artists from outside the griya (Brahmin priest’s house). The masks are also given ritual procession every Tumpek Wayang. When playing the puppet drama, the griya family will recruit players from the community outside the griya at Batuagung village as well as the elders from outside the griya.

Since this is classified into sacred art, wayang wong is performed during ceremonies such as ngenteg linggih, ngaben and other ritual processions. As the stories are quite time-consuming and involving colossal players, the performance only takes the segment of medeeng or follows the ngebeji procession. Meanwhile, it is rarely performed with full stories but only staged at certain times.

Specialty of the Wayang Wong lies in the stories, dances and masks with the unique and distinctive shape. The mask has magical energy and is made sacred. The mask is estimated to have existed since the arrival of senior figures of Griya Penida or hundreds of years ago. “If traced, our family came to Jembrana in 1800. Possibly, after that the masks already existed,” he explained.

In addition to the masks, another heritage aged hundreds of years old is a wooden rice barn having 12 pillars located in the courtyard of Griya’s family shrine. Coloring material used to decorate the mask is also retained in its original order to maintain the original color of these masks by rubbing cane pieces, with the aim of making the color of the mask dull into bright. Psychically, it is considered sacred and no one dares to tamper the masks Only in the rumbing section is made of leather, often polished with paint. At certain times like day of worship, the family members of griya also often find the mask box generating noises. Moreover, they are mutually colliding like there is a struggle in the box.

On that account, the family of Griya Penida will not be arbitrarily performing the wayang wong to avoid the fading of sacredness and divine inspiration of the art. (olo)

This art is one of the ancestral sacred arts passed down through hundreds of years.

IBP/olo

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Bali News

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

Spiciness of serombotan makes addicted

Running the business of producing tofu can indeed be a promising choice.

IBP/kmb

Having run tofu business for 11 years

Now Sutapa gains profit worth millions of rupiahs

GIANYAR — Running the business of producing tofu can indeed be a promising choice.

Nyoman Sutapa, for instance, has been running the business for eleven years. Right now, his tofu products have spread to a number of public markets in Gianyar district even to hotels and restaurants with turnover of millions of rupiahs.

Sutapa added that he had been involved in the business since 2008. At that time, he decided to stop being a security guard, and started a business to produce tofu.

“In 2008 I resigned from the position as hotel security guard. Even though it was a five-star hotel, I think it will be more flexible to run my own business,” said the father of two children when met on Sunday (Jun. 9).

He himself preferred to run tofu businesses because this food has become a basic necessity. “Especially for vegetarians, so many people also come to purchase directly at home,” he explained.

Sutapa said that every day he can make 30 molds.

One mold can consist of 50 pieces of tofu. Then, 10 pieces of tofu are sold for IDR 10,000. Today, the tofu is sold to a number of public markets, such as Sayan Market, Singakerta Market as well as basic food vendors that are open every morning, including a number of restaurants in the Ubud area.

His tofu business indeed continued to increase.

Surely, the business is not free from obstacles. Sutapa admitted that from the beginning he repeatedly made mixture in order to get the best quality. He experienced a number of obstacles, such as weather factors, a surge in soybean prices, and the resilience of tofu itself. “I don’t use preservatives so that two days after the time of production the tofu should have been cooked,” he said.

Sutapa added that his hard work had begun to bear fruits after two years of operations. So far, he is able to buy several cars for delivery. “Well, there are operational cars because the customers are increasing, ranging from stalls, markets to hotels and restaurants,” he said. (kmb35)

SEMARAPURA — When visiting the town of Semarapura, it is incomplete without trying this cuisine. The spicy flavor is different from other foods in general. Those who have tried and tasted the spiciness will surely get addicted.

Serombotan or spicy assorted vegetable salad is no longer strange to Balinese people.

This Balinese traditional cuisine has become an icon of Klungkung district and outside so that Klungkung gets a nickname as ‘the region of serombotan.’

The appearance of this cuisine to reach its popularity is in fact quite simple. A senior figure of Klungkung community, Mangku Made Sukanta Wahyu, recently told that in the 1950s the serombotan only consisted of water spinach vegetable with splash of seasoning. In the past, the water spinach in Klungkung could be mostly found at Jumpai village to the coast of Unda. Meanwhile, the splash of seasoning is a very spicy liquid sauce.

Formerly, this food was very popular among the Klungkung people but those providing this food were only a handful of people. At that time, they usually hung out in front of Klungkung Market and around Klungkung Royal Palace. Fondness of the Klungkung people for this food has increasingly made Balinese culinary specialty more developed. Sukanta asserted that until the 1970s water spinach with splash of seasoning was increasingly popular in the remote areas of the Klungkung region. More-

over, it was obligatory menu at every people’s home. This food is increasingly growing with other types of food ingredients like grated coconut sauce, bean, long bean, spinach and sprouts and various other types of vegetables.

“After this menu has grown rapidly with a variety of vegetables, the name is known as serombotan,” said Sukanta while remembering the happy times of serombotan becoming a culinary pride of Balinese people. Even though he has not been tasting serombotan for a long time, he can still imagine the spicy flavor of the seasoning making him addictive. However, because of his age, he claimed to have rarely consumed serombotan.

One of the famous merchants in Klungkung, Jero Ratna, said that today it is one of the favorite foods and pride of the Klungkung community. She explained that each merchant offers distinctive flavor. The difference in flavor depends on the merchants in processing the roasted coconut spices and then mixed with authentic Balinese spices.

“After that, the splash of seasoning is determining. The hallmark of serombotan is the spicy flavor of seasoning that makes customers addicted,” said the merchant who is always flooded by orders. Now, serombotan can almost be found at every corner of the Semarapura town. Aside from the Klungkung people, residents from other districts also often come to Klungkung just to buy food for their relatives’ gifts. (kmb31)

IBP/net

This Balinese traditional cuisine has become an icon of Klungkung district and outside so that Klungkung gets a nickname as ‘the region of serombotan.

13

Six convicted over rape, murder of eight-yearold Indian girl

PATHANKOT - Six men were convicted Monday over the notorious 2018 gang rape and murder in India of an eight-year-old girl from a Muslim nomadic tribe that provoked horror and stoked inter-religious tensions.

VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP

Kazakh President and presidential candidate Kassym-Jomart Tokayev holds his ballot at a polling station during Kazakhstan’s presidential elections in Nur-Sultan on June 9, 2019.

Hand-picked successor sweeps to victory in Kazakhstan vote

NUR-SULTAN - The handpicked successor of Kazakhstan’s longtime ruler has won a sweeping victory in a presidential election, authorities said on Monday, after a voting day marred by protests and arrests.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took 70.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, the Central Election Commission said, with his nearest rival, opposition candidate Amirzhan Kosanov, taking 16.2 percent.

Tokayev’s victory was never in doubt after he received the blessing of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led the Central Asian nation for three decades before his shock resignation in March.

But the vote Sunday was marked by the biggest protests the Muslimmajority country has seen in at least three years, as demonstrators urged a boycott of what they said was a fixed election.

The interior ministry said about 500 people were arrested on Sunday, with deputy minister Marat Kozhayev blaming “radical elements” for holding “unsanctioned” rallies.

Activists denounced the arrests and there were claims of ballot stuffing, but Tokayev insisted the election had been “a competition”.

“This shows that our level of political culture has seriously increased. There is much work ahead,” he said in comments broadcast Monday on state television.

Authorities said they would investigate all allegations of vote violations.

No vote in Kazakhstan has ever been recognised as fully democratic by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which sent more than 300 observers to monitor this election.

The OSCE mission is expected to provide its verdict on the polls at 0900 GMT on Monday.

Tokayev’s opponents were quick to congratulate him on victory, including second-place finisher Kosanov, a journalist who positioned himself as the ballot’s sole opposition candidate.

“This political transition will take place with the participation of the people,” Kosanov said, criticising “foreign-based” opposition figures who had encouraged voters to boycott the poll.

“People are ready for an equal dialogue with authorities,” he said.

Kosanov had previously said that if the count was fair the result would go to a second round. (afp)

Sexual violence, including against children, is rife in India and outrage over the so-called Kathua case contributed to the government introducing the death penalty for child rapists.

According to the charge sheet, the girl was abducted while she was out grazing horses and taken to a village in the Kathua district of the northern Indian region of Jammu on January 10 last year.

In an ordeal lasting five days, she was sedated and held in a Hindu temple, repeatedly raped and then strangled and bludgeoned to death.

Investigations suggested that the girl was targeted in order to strike fear in her nomad community and drive them out of the area.

The six Hindu men were due to be sentenced later, prosecution lawyer Mubeen Farooqui told reporters outside a special court in Pathankot, in Punjab state.

They face the death penalty with a minimum of life imprisonment. A seventh man was acquitted while an eighth person, who claims to be underage, faces a separate trial.

“We will appeal against the convictions in a higher court,” defence lawyer H.S. Pathania said.

Among the three convicted for rape and murder were village head Sanjhi Ram and special police officer Deepak Khajuria. Three others were found guilty

of taking bribes and destroying evidence, but still face life imprisonment under strict conspiracy laws.

- Sexual violence -

India has the death penalty for the most brutal murders and terror attacks. The last execution happened in 2015 over bombings in Mumbai in 1993.

The Kathua case sparked two days of violent protests in Jammu and demonstrations in several other places across India, including in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party also drew flak after two of its members participated in rallies in support of the accused.

The protests were reminiscent of those that followed the fatal gang rape of a Delhi student on a bus in 2012 that made headlines around the world.

The Supreme Court had shifted the Kathua trial to Punjab after the girl’s family and their lawyer complained of death threats.

Sexual violence, including against children, remains unabated in India. Nearly 20,000 child rape cases were reported in 2016, according to official data, while a 2014 UN report said one in three rape victims was a minor.

Jammu and Kashmir is India’s only Muslim-majority state, but the southern Jammu region -- where the rape and murder took place -- is Hindu-dominated.

On Monday hundreds of police were on duty in Pathankot for the trial. Wary of new protests, security was also heavy in Kathua town and surrounding Muslim areas. (afp)

NARINDER NANU / AFP

Media gather around a Punjab Police vehicle carrying the seven accused for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, as verdict is expected to be delivered at the district court in Pathankot on June 10, 2019. Seven Hindu men will be sentenced at a later date.

12

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

BUSINESS

International

Bali News

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

5

Come on, Explore Uniqueness of Ubud Village by Bicycle

Once upon a time, try to travel in Ubud village by cycling. The atmosphere must be different. Other than having exercise, you can also enjoy cultural attractions of the local community up close. Moreover, you can interact with them. Indeed, between Ubud and cycling activities are two inseparable things.

Although there is a variety of transportation means at this tourism village, cycling remains an option for tourists wishing to explore the enjoyable tourist area. So, don’t be surprised if most accommodations provide bicycle facility for tourists desiring to enjoy the local countryside. Alam Puisi Villa Ubud at Sembuwuk village, for instance, also offers this facility.

General Manager of Alam Puisi Villa Ubud, Budiarta, said that cycling is one of the very popular activities among foreign tourists traveling to Ubud. This activity is in great demand. Since the Ubud area is identical to cycling, the tour-

ist accommodation should provide bicycle. “This bicycle can be used by tourists wishing to look around the villa,” he said.

In addition, the Alam Puisi Villa Ubud also has a cycling route, consisting of long track that starts from Ubud to Kintamani and medium track only located around Ubud while enjoying the local natural beauty. “This cycling track is the most in demand by tourists in Ubud,” said Budiarta.

Cycling trails in the Ubud area are very easy to pass through. On this route, tourists are introduced to traditional agrarian activities posing the main livelihood of Ubud people. However, tourists will also be introduced to several other cultural activities. Cycling paths have been adjusted and combined with natural and cultural pathways.

As the advantages of this track, tourists can enjoy the true natural beauty of Bali and cultural activities because they will be invited to stop by for a moment where the elements of Balinese culture are still maintained. Ubud as one of the

cultural centers in Bali also become a concern of guests.

Moreover, each side of Ubud has many uniqueness that can be enjoyed by tourists.

The terrain traversed by tourists is quite interesting, starting from the snaking contours of the road passing through the rice fields, reeds in the hill area of ??Campuhan, Ubud, to the area owned by local residents and many other beautiful sceneries that can be explored. For package of long route, tourists cycle from Ubud to Kintamani with several choices, one of which is cycling from Puncak Penulisan, Sukawana village, Kintamani.

This track invites tourists to look around the mountains through the eastern path by crossing forest, seeing mountain views, rural environment and then crossing the mountains behind Mount Batur with the overlay of Mount Batur view.

For cycling in Kintamani, the tour will end at Toya Bungkah village located right at the foot of Mount Batur and close to Lake Batur. (kmb)

AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

Migration officials and Military Police man a checkpoint on the highway, in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, Friday, June 7, 2019. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexico are set to take effect Monday as planned, the White House said Friday, even as negotiators continued to meet to try to stave off his latest push to force the U.S. ally to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

Why Trump’s trade wars are pressuring both economy and Fed

WASHINGTON — A sharp pullback in U.S. hiring for May intensified fears that the economy has weakened and that many employers have grown nervous, in part from President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars.

Yet the stock market soared and bond yields fell because investors found a reason to cheer: The tepid employment report magnified their expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the coming months, perhaps beginning in July, to support the economy.

Trump, who has railed against the Fed for not cutting rates this year, may get his wish, if only because his trade conflicts with China, Mexico and other key nations are posing an economic threat.

It isn’t at all clear how effective Fed rate cuts would be when mortgage rates and other borrowing costs in the United States are already historically low. What’s more, rate cuts carry their own risks. With the Fed’s own key shortterm rate already low, further reductions could weaken the central bank’s ability to fight a future recession. Lower Fed rates might also contribute to dangerous bubbles in stocks or other assets.

On top of that, the Fed’s policymakers face an unusually uncertain environment. Though the White House’s threats to impose tariffs on all Mexican and Chinese imports are pressuring the economy, a resolution to those conflicts could quickly end the damage they might be causing. In that case, the Fed might have cut rates prematurely.

A rate cut “is a bit of insurance in case the economy deteriorates more quickly,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax consulting firm.

Employers added just 75,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday , only about a third of April’s pace.

The unemployment rate held at a five-decade low of 3.6%.

So far this year, employers are adding 164,000 jobs a month,

enough to keep lowering the jobless rate over time, but down from last year’s pace.

Economic growth is projected to slow, with most analysts forecasting just 1.5% growth at an annual rate in the AprilJune quarter, after a healthy 3.1% in the first three months of the year.

Some economists worry that growth is already slowing even before the full effects of the trade fights have kicked in.

For most of the spring, investors thought that a deal would be reached with China, after Trump had imposed tariffs last year.

Early last month, Trump turned more combative: He suddenly raised the import taxes on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. The president argued that the increase was necessary because China had backed away from parts of an emerging deal.

And last Friday, Trump said he would impose 5% tariffs on all imports from Mexico, and would ratchet those duties another 5% each month until they hit 25% in October, unless Mexico stopped the flow of migrants through its country from Central America.

The U.S. imported nearly $350 billion in goods from Mexico last year, including autos and auto parts, electrical components, and produce such as tomatoes, avocadoes, and cucumbers. If those duties were to reach 25%, they would restrain U.S. economic growth and raise prices for businesses and consumers.

“It’s a bad sign that we’re already getting a slowdown, because there’s less margin for error, less room to absorb shocks” from the trade war, said Josh Wright, chief economist at recruiting software firm iCIMS and a former Federal Reserve researcher.

Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that there is a “good chance” that his administration and Mexico will reach an agreement to stave off the tariffs.

All of which adds another level of complexity for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. It isn’t clear how long the taxes

on Mexican goods, if imposed, would remain in place. And Trump is scheduled to meet China’s President Xi Jingping at the end of the month at a global summit in Japan. Washington and Beijing could make progress toward a deal. Or, if talks fail, Trump could proceed with his threat to impose tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports that haven’t yet been taxed.

There are some signs the trade fights are already souring the economy. Companies are reining in their orders for industrial machinery and other manufactured goods. Exports have also slowed, in part because of retaliatory tariffs imposed

by China and Mexico and because of sluggish growth in Europe and Asia.

Manufacturers have added just 5,000 jobs in the past three months — much weaker than last year’s monthly average of 21,000. U.S. factory output has fallen in three of the past four months.

“That’s the trade war coming home to roost,” Brusuelas said.

Brusuelas argues that the trade wars have placed an “uncertainty tax” on the economy, which has discouraged employers from hiring or investing in new equipment. A Fed rate cut, by boosting financial markets, might shore up business and consumer confidence and prompt some additional spending by wealthier households that would benefit from higher stock prices.

“The Fed can’t solve this problem,” he said. “But it can mitigate the uncertainty tax that the trade fight has put on the economy.”

The Fed could wait until September to cut rates to get a better read of how the trade fights play out. Yet doing so could cause the financial markets to react impatiently and fall further, worsening business and consumer confidence.

“The Fed is in an awkward position because of how quickly external events are moving,” Wright said. “It will be very hard to stick this landing.” (ap)

Delicious and Healthy Traditional Menu

When vacationing in Bali, at times you need to taste some traditional local menus. The Island of Gods community has various types of menus whose preparation is simple, distinctive and healthy. For instance, there is purple taro soup. This cuisine has even existed since ancient times. It was commonly consumed by farmers whose lives are simple

but still happy.

Purple taro soup has indeed been crushed by the progress of the times following the rampant emergence of ready-toeat foods. Actually, the purple taro is an ingredient richly containing potassium and calcium which maintain metabolic stability and heart health. This menu offers a good taste and contains lots of fiber as well as vitamins A and C. Along with the development of Bali tourism promoting cultural tourism, traditional food existing in the past is discovered and then processed into prominent menus. Such various servings do not only have good taste, but also look attractive and beautiful. Hotel and restaurant chefs having the ability to create and process menus, indeed continue to explore and develop it.

Taro is a plant cultivated by people of the past. Its tubers were used as a substitute of staple food. Stems and leaves are commonly used for pig fodder mixed with bran and other food scraps. So, do not be surprised, the domestic pig farmers in the past had healthy meat without chemicals.

Let’s be back to the purple taro soup. This has become a

featured menu at several hotels and restaurants in the tourist area of ??Ubud. Taro soup is usually used as the opening menu. Sometimes it is also combined with walking programs around the village as well as yoga package and other traditional nuanced activities. Surely, the servings are adapted to tourists’ appetite with distinctive taste.

Preparation of this menu is not too difficult. First of all, you have to choose a large, young purple taro stem. Peel the stem and slice it ??thinly, so the sap and mucus can easily come out. The sliced ??stems are then soaked in the salt water for about 30 minutes. After that, squeeze them repeatedly with the aim to make the stem soft and release the entire sap and mucus.

Meanwhile, the seasoning uses Balinese spices such as turmeric, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and shallot. All of these spices are only pushed to produce a clearer soup. The seasoning is then stir-fried and added chicken stock. The taro stem is put into a pan and add some salt and pepper.

Ultimately, cook for about 30 minutes. Having been cooked, take out and it’s ready to be served. (kmb)

6

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

W

RLD

International

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

11

Rising misery as Ethiopia struggles to stem ethnic tensions

CHERQO - More than a year after his house in southern Ethiopia was razed to the ground, his coffee plantation destroyed and cattle stolen, Teketel Memheru is still too terrified to return home.

The 22-year-old is one of hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from their homes by ethnic clashes in a burgeoning domestic crisis the Ethiopian government is battling to contain.

“I witnessed a neighbour of mine hacked to death and another neighbour was burnt alive in his house. I’m scared to go to farm my agricultural plot for fear of attacks,” said Teketel, an ethnic Gedeo who says he came under attack by Oromos -- the country’s largest ethnic group.

Officials insist that what became the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis in 2018 is under control, and that more than a million people have returned to their homes.

However those working on the ground -- speaking anonymously to avoid a government backlash -- say the displaced are being forcibly returned. They warn that the dire humanitarian conditions are only set to get worse.

“Peace is not restored, I didn’t meet a single person who wants to return under these conditions. People are really scared.

It will get more difficult,” an aid worker told AFP. The worker said that in May local officials and soldiers had entered the camps and ordered people to leave. Most people however had just disappeared once again into a fatigued host community and were living in utter “misery”.

In addition, hunger levels had become a “catastrophe”.

“We believe levels of violence and displacement will continue,” said the worker.

- Reforms open Pandora’s box -

Since coming to power in April 2018 after two years of antigovernment unrest, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed -- himself an Oromo -- has been hailed for his efforts to end the iron-fisted rule of his predecessors.

He has embarked on economic reforms, allowed dissident groups back into the country, and an easing of control has seen Ethiopia jump 40 points in the 2019 press freedom index.

But the loosening of the reins has had a far darker side, as years of tensions between ethnic groups who are divided into nine autonomous regions, have boiled over -- usually over land and resources -- leading to deadly violence in the country of over 100 million people.

One of the hotspots is along the borders of the Gedeo district -- which is part of the vast Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region -- and West Guji in Oromia.

The verdant, rolling hills of this southern region, are where some of the world’s best coffee is grown. It is also the most densely populated part of the country, with residents facing a critical shortage of farmland.

Tensions have long existed between the groups, but last year the Oromo of West Guji attacked the Gedeo living on their side.

The clashes led to the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over a million mostly ethnic Gedeos displaced, according to government figures.

Yonas KIROS / AFP

A group of people Internally Displaced People ( IDP ) pose in front of their shelter on May 20, 2019 at Qercha village, southern Ethiopia.

Similar violence erupted in 2017 between Somalis and Oromos in the southeast Somali region, also displacing around one million people and leaving hundreds dead.

And last month dozens of people were killed in clashes between residents of northern Benishangul Gumuz and Amhara states.

“None of these conflicts are entirely new, but several of them have flared at a larger scale than we’ve seen in the past,” said William Davison, the International Crisis Group’s senior Ethiopia analyst.

He said there were multiple factors at play stoking tensions.

These include the weakening of the once all-powerful ruling EPRDF as a result of years of protests and infighting, an economic slowdown that has hit the poor hard, and a shake-up of the security apparatus under Abiy.

“There has been a loosening of control which has led existing disputes to take on a new dimension,” said Davison.

Add to this a poorly functioning ethnic federal system, opportunities presented by the political transition, and competition for resources in an impoverished nation.

Abiy’s opening has led to ethno-nationalists staking different claims, but at the same time he is loath to lean back on the repressive tactics once used to deter and crack down on intercommunal violence.

“Abiy has been clear his government is disinclined to use past methods and send in police or soldiers to apply lethal force and conduct mass arrests on the spot.”

- ‘We have seen no peace’ -

Ethiopia’s Minister of Peace Muferiat Kamil last week said that all displaced people would be returned to their homes by the end of June, and officials have denied forcing anyone to return.

However in the town of Yirgecheffe, a stadium housing thousands of displaced people was cleared out by police ahead of a visit by journalists in late May, another aid agency official said on condition of anonymity.

“The government pushing people to return to their home communities prematurely will only add to the ongoing suffering,” the US-based Refugees International said in May. According to World Vision, only 145,516 people have returned home from Gedeo and hundreds are still lining up for food aid.

“There’s a concern that there hasn’t been anything like sufficient reconciliation to be confident about the safety of people returning home,” said Davison.

Teketel is one of the lucky ones, having managed to set up a small shop in Cherqo village in Gedeo. But he longs to return home to farm his land.

“We have seen no peace since Abiy came to power. Peace is the most important thing for a human being, not only to farm, but also to cultivate and eat what is farmed.” (afp)

Climate activists blockade cruise ship in German port

BERLIN - Climate activists using small boats and climbing equipment blockaded a cruise ship for six hours in a German harbour to protest against its carbon emissions, police said Monday.

About 50 protesters with banners reading “Cruises kill climate” Sunday delayed the departure of the Zuiderdam, operated by Holland America Line, from the North Sea port of Kiel.

The ship finally left around 10 pm (2000 GMT) for Copenhagen after police had temporarily detained 46 activ-

ists, several of whom had climbed onto the ship and onto a harbourside crane.

The activists were protesting against the “catastrophic local and global consequences of cruises” as well as what they claimed are the crew’s poor working conditions.

The group, which calls itself “Smash Cruiseshit”, said on Twitter that heavy fuel-powered “cruise ships contribute to the heating of the planet” and generate soot particles that settle on Arctic ice. (afp)

AP Photo

A man carries a child as he watches Mount Sinabung spewing volcanic materials into the air during an eruption, in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, June 9, 2019. Sinabung which has sporadically erupted since 2010 after being dormant for 400 years, is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

Mt. Sinabung erupts in western Indonesia

JAKARTA - A column of thick ash was spewed seven km high to the sky from the crater of Mount Sinabung volcano in Sumatra Island of western Indonesia on Sunday, the country’s national volcanology agency said.

Belching of ash and smoke was shot at 16:28 p.m. Jakarta time, followed by a spread of hot ash to the southeast and

south of the crater by up to 3.5 km and three km respectively, the agency said in a statement. The agency, however, said there was so far no report of damages or casualty.

Mt. Sinabung volcano is at the second highest alert level with no-go zone of five km from the crater, it said.

Residents living near the flank of the volcano were urged to use masks when rains of ash pour down, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nu-

groho said.

Those living alongside the rivers with upstream in the slope of the volcano were warned of cold lava floods during torrential rains, the spokesman told Xinhua in a text message.

Mt. Sinabung, 2,475 meters high, is located in Karo district of North Sumatra province. In its eruption in 2014, 16 people were killed and thousands displaced. Mt. Sinabung is among 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia. (ant)

Legal process over May-22 riot to be conducted transparently: Wiranto

Thomas EISENKRAETZER / dpa / AFP

A picture taken on June 9, 2019 shows climate activists of the “Smash Cruiseshit” group on a small boat during an operation to block the Zuiderdam cruise ship at Kiel’s harbour to protest against its carbon emissions.

Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Wiranto has made assurance that the police will be fair and transparent in conducting legal proceedings in connection with the riots erupting on May 21-22, 2019.

“Our brothers also continue to face various legal issues related to the election that arise. The legal process over the riots that broke out on May 21-22 after the announcement of election results, of course, will run fairly, honestly,

and transparently,” Wiranto emphasized while leading the ministerial meeting at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs here Monday.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, Attorney General A. M. Prasetyo, TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, Head of BIN General Budi Gunawan, and Head

of the National Terrorism Prevention Agency (BNPT) Suhardi Alius were present at the meeting.

He urged the police to be as clear as possible in its approach to deliver the result of the investigation into the May-22 action to the public.

This is deemed necessary, particularly when speculations are currently rife among members in the community over several legal issues that are being processed, especially in connection with the

arrest of key figures, who can immediately be neutralized.

“Yes, the right way forward is to inform the public as lucidly as possible about the legal process that took place. The process related to the investigation, making the police investigation report, and so forth should not create new speculations.

Hence, the community should be informed clearly about how we consistently enforce applicable laws in Indonesia. This is crucial, “ Wiranto elaborated.

The minister revealed that currently, his side has prioritized maintaining political stability.

Furthermore, the session to resolve disputes over the 2019 general election at the Constitutional Court is drawing closer.

“We are optimistic that the contestants will stay consistent and be able to accept the Constitutional Court’s decision, as it will prevent the problem from getting drawn out. Moreover, stability is guaranteed,” he added. (afp)

10

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Destination

International

Baluk Rening beach

NEGARA - It is not much visited by tourists like in Sanur, Nusa Dua or Kuta, yet has its own uniqueness.A visit to the beach is not only able to pamper your eyes and relaxes the mind, but can also treat a variety of ailments such as rheumatism and gout.

Yeah right, the sand Gritty Rening believed could cure diseases especially those mentioned above by means of piles and Submerse the sea water all over the body.

The day apparently more and more tourists visiting the Baluk Rening for the purpose of bathing, just unwind, medical treatment, and a lot more other things are done here. Rening Baluk is in fact already become attractions in Jembrana Regency it long enough and were developed in the early 1990s, but due to the brunt of the mighty storm the economic crisis makes the name Baluk Rening dims.

Domestic tourists, especially those that come from Java island with driving a car, can travel to the attractions of Baluk Rening, to try the benefits of seawater and sand can try healing a supposedly some of the disease. Of course to come there, should be on the day or morning. The location of this tourist attraction, located about four kilometers south of the main streets of Denpasar Gilimanuk, southwards from 5 kilometers to the West of the country.

Some restaurants have been around in the Rening Baluk is that you can visit when hunger ambush. There is also a budget Hotel that has dozens of rooms in case there are tourists who intended to spend the night on the beach.Pacathe economic crisis of 1998 and the bomb blast in Bali a few years ago, Rening Baluk began first settled and expect more and more tourists coming for a visit so that this attraction is getting more and more famous and giving income streams. (IBP/net)

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

‘Bigger house, bigger TV, better garden?’: Nadal won’t target Federer Slam record

PARIS - Rafael Nadal insists he is not obsessed with beating Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams, claiming “you can’t be frustrated all the time because your neighbour has a bigger house than you or a bigger TV or better garden”.

Nadal swept to an historic 12th Roland Garros title with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Sunday.

That took him to 18 majors, just two behind Federer.

At 33, Nadal is the best part of five years younger than the Swiss veteran but with a career blighted by injuries, he refuses to target the all-time record.

“That’s not the way that I see the life,” said the Spaniard.

“It’s a motivation, yes, but it’s not my obsession.

“It’s not what makes me get up every morning or go and train and play.”

Nadal’s caution is well-founded.

By his own estimates, his career-long battles against knee and wrist injuries have cost him “around 15 or even more Grand Slams”.

In the aftermath of his latest Roland Garros triumph, he admitted that after an injury-hit start to 2019, he felt “down mentally and physically” and questioned his love for the sport.

- ‘Not enjoying it’ -

“I was not enjoying it too much, I was worried about my health. I was down mentally and physically after Indian Wells,” said Nadal.

AFP

This combination of pictures created on June 9, 2019 shows Spain’s Rafael Nadal posing with the Mousquetaires Cup (The Musketeers) during his twelve victories in the men’s French Tennis Open at the Roland Garros stadium.

“I was too negative. After Madrid and Barcelona, I was thinking about what I needed to do. I could stop for a while and recover or change my attitude and recover.”

After a loss in the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, where he won just eight games, a second round exit in Acapulco was followed by a withdrawal from the semi-finals in Indian Wells, when a knee injury meant that an eagerly-awaited clash with Federer was shelved.

His return in the clay court season saw semi-finals losses in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid before a much needed title triumph in Rome.

“In 2018, I played nine events and finished just seven of them,” Nadal added.

“I had issues with my knee and surgery on my foot, so many issues in the last 18 months that have made the last few weeks very special.”

Nadal revealed that in Barcelona, he had even locked himself away, questioning where his season was heading.

“Mentally, I lost a little bit of energy, because I had too many issues in a row. It is tough when you receive one after another, and then sometimes you are groggy,” he explained.

“In Barcelona, I was able to stay alone for a couple of hours in the room and think about what’s going on, what I need to do.

“One possibility was to stop for a while and recover my body. And the other was change drastically my attitude and my mentality to play the next couple of weeks.

“Thinking a lot, finally I think I was able to change and was able to fight back for every small improvement.”

On Sunday, Nadal took his Roland Garros record to an astonishing 93 wins and just two losses having previously won the title in 2005-2008, 2010-2014, 2017 and 2018.

It also gave him an 82nd career title and 950th match win.

“All the things that I went through probably give me that extra passion when I am playing, because I know I will not be here forever. “So I just try to be positive, to be intense, and to be passionate about what I am doing.”

Next up for Nadal is his latest assault on Wimbledon, where he has twice been champion, in 2008 and 2010. (afp)

Hamilton takes controversial Canada win after Vettel penalised

MONTREAL - Lewis Hamilton maintained Mercedes’ record winning start to a season on Sunday when he was handed a controversial victory, courtesy of a disputed stewards’ decision to penalise Sebastian Vettel, at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The defending five-time world champion overall leader came home second on the track behind Vettel of Ferrari, but was declared the winner because of a five-second penalty for a racing infringement by the German.

Vettel ran off and re-joined across a strip of grass on lap 50, forcing a charging Hamilton off-track towards a wall. The Briton braked to withdraw from his challenge to take the lead, prompting a race stewards’ inquiry, which resulted in the time penalty.

“Where could I go?” protested Vettel. “They’re stealing the race from us.”

“No, no, no, not like that,” he repeated on his slow-down lap as Hamilton celebrated. “If there wasn’t a wall, I would have gone past him,” said the Briton.

In a bizarre sequence, Vettel at first refused to attend the postrace interviews and stormed away to the Ferrari motor home before, after persuasion by the Italian team, he returned for the podium ceremonies.

As he did so, however, he walked to the parc ferme and moved the numbers used to mark the finishing order — shifting the number one to the blank space for his car, two for Hamilton’s Mercedes and three for Charles Leclerc.

When the pro-Ferrari crowd booed Hamilton, Vettel told them to stop. “Don’t boo Lewis – you should boo these decisions, not him,” he said.

It was Hamilton’s record seventh victory in Canada, and the 78th of his career, and extended Mercedes’ season-opening run to seven successive wins.

Vettel ended up classified second ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Leclerc, fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo of Renault.

Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh in the second Renault ahead of Pierre Gasly of Red Bull, home hero Lance Stroll of Racing Point and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso.

Mercedes congratulated Hamilton on his win. “You forced the error,” they told him.

“I just want to thank the team as we had an engine problem after my crash – and it was not the way I wanted to get past.” (afp)

Charles Coates/Getty Images/AFP

Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 09, 2019 in Montreal, Canada.

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Bayern defender Rafinha to join Flamengo Departing Bayern Munich defender Rafinha is returning home to join Brazilian club Flamengo, the Bundesliga champions confirmed on Monday.

The 33-year-old bid farewell to Bayern last month after eight years at the club, and his contract officially expires on June 30.

On Monday, both Flamengo and Bayern confirmed that the full-back had signed a two-year deal at the five-time Brazilian champions, ending a 14-year spell in European football.

Rafinha joined Bayern from Genoa in 2011, having previously spent five years at Bundesliga rivals Schalke.

With 266 appearances and 18 titles in his eight years at Bayern, he played a role in one of the most successful decades in the club’s history.

Though never a first-team regular, the Brazilian was a highly popular figure in the dressing room, and was given an emotional sendoff alongside Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in May. (afp)

JEFERSON GUAREZE / AFP

Brazil’s player Willian takes part in a training session for the national team at Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on June 8, 2019, ahead of the upcoming Copa America 2019. Brazil will meet Honduras on June 9 for an international friendly football match.

Brazil trip ‘significant step’ for Qatar ahead of 2022 World Cup

‘More exposure’ for women’s game: New Zealand ‘keeper Nayler has World Cup goal

IBP/net

New Zealand goalkeeper Erin Nayler is hopeful that the Ferns can do enough at the World Cup in France to help the women’s game grow in a country where rugby dominates and football often struggles for media attention.

“It’s a difficult one because rugby is so popular in New Zealand and everyone follows that, but for the youth, women’s football is the biggest sport,” Nayler tells AFP. “I think over the next few years it will grow and I think with this World Cup, hopefully it will get some more exposure and continue to grow and maybe be one of the biggest sports in New Zealand.”

Nayler was speaking in Bordeaux, at the French club she joined in 2017 after previously being on the books at Lyon, Europe’s dominant side.

This, then, is a home World Cup for the 27 year-old, who did not take to the field for the Ferns in 2011 in Germany but played every minute for her country in Canada four years ago.

Established as her country’s number one, she believes the standard of the French league has helped her progress as a player. Bordeaux finished fourth in the just-completed

season, albeit a long way behind champions Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain in second. “The league is very competitive, every team is strong,” she says.

“I think as a goalkeeper playing against some of the best players in the world at Lyon and PSG is very important for my development and for my preparation for the World Cup.” What of this World Cup? New Zealand are in a tough Group E along with European champions the Netherlands, Canada and Cameroon.

They kick off their campaign against the Dutch in the northern port city of Le Havre on Tuesday, and Nayler hopes the Ferns can make a bigger impression than four years ago, when they finished bottom of their group winning a game.

On that occasion they started off with a 1-0 defeat against the Dutch, but this time Nayler says the team are aiming for the knockout stage.

- ‘Rough ride’ -

“We played the Netherlands at the last World Cup as well, so we know them quite well, they are a very strong team, they have a lot of strong players.

“At the last World Cup we narrowly lost to them by

one goal, but I think if we play well we can get a result against them. We just have to show up and perform well on the day.”

The team have never made it beyond the group stage at a World Cup, but a 1-0 friendly win away to one of the pretournament favourites, England, just before they set off for France hinted at their capabilities.

The Scot, Tom Sermanni -- formerly coach of Orlando Pride -- took over as coach late last year and led the team to victory at the OFC Nations Cup. “We have had a difficult build-up, we have changed coach three times in the last two years, so it’s been a little bit of a rough ride,” Nayler admitted. “Getting out of the group would be the goal.”

Nayler, a former molecular biology student, is also confident that the month-long tournament can be a turning point for the women’s game as a whole.

“I think it will be really interesting, I think women’s football has grown a lot over the last four years since the last World Cup and I think, being in Europe as well, there will be a lot of support and I think a lot of the French will be behind it,” she says. (afp)

IBP/net

First-timers Qatar go into the Copa America with the young team riding high following their triumph in the Asian Cup but humbled by “higher calibre” competition than they encountered in the Emirates.

Head coach Felix Sanchez also said that the tournament would be a “significant step in our journey towards the World Cup” which Qatar will host in 2022.

“We’ll play against experienced teams that are certainly of a higher calibre than what we saw at the Asian tournament,” he said in an interview with FIFA ahead of the Brazil tournament.

“Our group includes Argentina, whose abilities are well known, and Colombia, who are exceptionally good performers, whether at World Cups or the Copa America.

Paraguay also boast a pedigreed history.”

The South American continental championship gets underway on June 14 with the hosts Brazil looking for their first title since 2007.

“So, I believe these matches will serve as an important staging post for me and the players. They’ll tell us where we currently stand and what we need to do in the next phase,” added Sanchez.

Qatar got off to a cautious start in a friendly against Brazil who won 2-0, although the visitors’ credible performance was overshadowed by Neymar’s travails.

The forward, who is facing rape accusations he strongly denies, sprained his ankle and was forced to limp off the pitch on crutches, ruling him out of the tournament.

“It was a great game for us.

(But) we should learn from our mistakes,” said a Qatar team official. “In the second half we played better.”

The side, which with Japan was invited to make up the required 12 teams, has struck a cautious tone ahead of their highest profile outing since the Asian Cup. Qatar’s inclusion in the Copa America initially raised eyebrows but both they and Japan reached the Asian Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

Qatar triumphed in that tournament going from zero points at the last Asian Cup to their first continental title in record-breaking style, beating Japan 3-1.

Forward Almoez Ali’s bicycle kick helped bring home the trophy and broke Ali Daei’s 23-year-old mark for goals at a single Asian Cup. Ali said the Copa was all about learning for Qatar, continuing the methodical approach which has already paid dividends.

- ‘It won’t be easy’ -

“We’re not expecting to win, but just to learn because after the World Cup, the Copa America is the biggest competition in the world,” Ali said following the Asian Cup win.

“The weakest teams are in Asia, Asia is the weakest continent for football so in the Copa America we will learn more.” The team source acknowledged to AFP that “it won’t be easy”.

Qatar also has one eye clearly fixed on the 2022 World Cup. “You have to always focus on your overriding goal. The state of Qatar is heading towards a historic event: hosting the 2022 World Cup,” said

Sanchez who was given a mandate last month to lead Qatar into the global soccer spectacle when his contract was extended to 2022.

“We need to make sure the squad are in top form and up to the nation’s expectations. This means that we’ll not be participating just for its own sake, but that we’re determined to leave our mark on World Cup history, especially since this will be Qatar’s first World Cup. “Our participation in the 2019 Copa America can be seen as a significant step in our journey towards the World Cup, a journey that we started some time ago.”

Sanchez said that above all the tournament would be a proving ground for his side’s young stars.

After spending many millions of petro-dollars on their world-class Aspire Academy, and scouring the world for top coaches, Qatar are beginning to recoup their investment.

“Since our squad has many young players, we look forward to gaining as much experience as possible in this high-profile tournament,” said Sanchez.

“Specifically, that means experiencing the Latin American style of play and taking part in a major tournament in front of many fans.

It will also allow us to address important details on and off the pitch.

“I want the team to perform in a proper and honourable way and demonstrate that they’ve progressed. That’s not just measured in accumulating points and progressing to the next round, but if that happens, it would of course be great.” Qatar’s Copa America campaign will begin on June 16 against Paraguay. (afp)

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Bayern defender Rafinha to join Flamengo Departing Bayern Munich defender Rafinha is returning home to join Brazilian club Flamengo, the Bundesliga champions confirmed on Monday.

The 33-year-old bid farewell to Bayern last month after eight years at the club, and his contract officially expires on June 30.

On Monday, both Flamengo and Bayern confirmed that the full-back had signed a two-year deal at the five-time Brazilian champions, ending a 14-year spell in European football.

Rafinha joined Bayern from Genoa in 2011, having previously spent five years at Bundesliga rivals Schalke.

With 266 appearances and 18 titles in his eight years at Bayern, he played a role in one of the most successful decades in the club’s history.

Though never a first-team regular, the Brazilian was a highly popular figure in the dressing room, and was given an emotional sendoff alongside Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in May. (afp)

JEFERSON GUAREZE / AFP

Brazil’s player Willian takes part in a training session for the national team at Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on June 8, 2019, ahead of the upcoming Copa America 2019. Brazil will meet Honduras on June 9 for an international friendly football match.

Brazil trip ‘significant step’ for Qatar ahead of 2022 World Cup

‘More exposure’ for women’s game: New Zealand ‘keeper Nayler has World Cup goal

IBP/net

New Zealand goalkeeper Erin Nayler is hopeful that the Ferns can do enough at the World Cup in France to help the women’s game grow in a country where rugby dominates and football often struggles for media attention.

“It’s a difficult one because rugby is so popular in New Zealand and everyone follows that, but for the youth, women’s football is the biggest sport,” Nayler tells AFP. “I think over the next few years it will grow and I think with this World Cup, hopefully it will get some more exposure and continue to grow and maybe be one of the biggest sports in New Zealand.”

Nayler was speaking in Bordeaux, at the French club she joined in 2017 after previously being on the books at Lyon, Europe’s dominant side.

This, then, is a home World Cup for the 27 year-old, who did not take to the field for the Ferns in 2011 in Germany but played every minute for her country in Canada four years ago.

Established as her country’s number one, she believes the standard of the French league has helped her progress as a player. Bordeaux finished fourth in the just-completed

season, albeit a long way behind champions Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain in second. “The league is very competitive, every team is strong,” she says.

“I think as a goalkeeper playing against some of the best players in the world at Lyon and PSG is very important for my development and for my preparation for the World Cup.” What of this World Cup? New Zealand are in a tough Group E along with European champions the Netherlands, Canada and Cameroon.

They kick off their campaign against the Dutch in the northern port city of Le Havre on Tuesday, and Nayler hopes the Ferns can make a bigger impression than four years ago, when they finished bottom of their group winning a game.

On that occasion they started off with a 1-0 defeat against the Dutch, but this time Nayler says the team are aiming for the knockout stage.

- ‘Rough ride’ -

“We played the Netherlands at the last World Cup as well, so we know them quite well, they are a very strong team, they have a lot of strong players.

“At the last World Cup we narrowly lost to them by

one goal, but I think if we play well we can get a result against them. We just have to show up and perform well on the day.”

The team have never made it beyond the group stage at a World Cup, but a 1-0 friendly win away to one of the pretournament favourites, England, just before they set off for France hinted at their capabilities.

The Scot, Tom Sermanni -- formerly coach of Orlando Pride -- took over as coach late last year and led the team to victory at the OFC Nations Cup. “We have had a difficult build-up, we have changed coach three times in the last two years, so it’s been a little bit of a rough ride,” Nayler admitted. “Getting out of the group would be the goal.”

Nayler, a former molecular biology student, is also confident that the month-long tournament can be a turning point for the women’s game as a whole.

“I think it will be really interesting, I think women’s football has grown a lot over the last four years since the last World Cup and I think, being in Europe as well, there will be a lot of support and I think a lot of the French will be behind it,” she says. (afp)

IBP/net

First-timers Qatar go into the Copa America with the young team riding high following their triumph in the Asian Cup but humbled by “higher calibre” competition than they encountered in the Emirates.

Head coach Felix Sanchez also said that the tournament would be a “significant step in our journey towards the World Cup” which Qatar will host in 2022.

“We’ll play against experienced teams that are certainly of a higher calibre than what we saw at the Asian tournament,” he said in an interview with FIFA ahead of the Brazil tournament.

“Our group includes Argentina, whose abilities are well known, and Colombia, who are exceptionally good performers, whether at World Cups or the Copa America.

Paraguay also boast a pedigreed history.”

The South American continental championship gets underway on June 14 with the hosts Brazil looking for their first title since 2007.

“So, I believe these matches will serve as an important staging post for me and the players. They’ll tell us where we currently stand and what we need to do in the next phase,” added Sanchez.

Qatar got off to a cautious start in a friendly against Brazil who won 2-0, although the visitors’ credible performance was overshadowed by Neymar’s travails.

The forward, who is facing rape accusations he strongly denies, sprained his ankle and was forced to limp off the pitch on crutches, ruling him out of the tournament.

“It was a great game for us.

(But) we should learn from our mistakes,” said a Qatar team official. “In the second half we played better.”

The side, which with Japan was invited to make up the required 12 teams, has struck a cautious tone ahead of their highest profile outing since the Asian Cup. Qatar’s inclusion in the Copa America initially raised eyebrows but both they and Japan reached the Asian Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

Qatar triumphed in that tournament going from zero points at the last Asian Cup to their first continental title in record-breaking style, beating Japan 3-1.

Forward Almoez Ali’s bicycle kick helped bring home the trophy and broke Ali Daei’s 23-year-old mark for goals at a single Asian Cup. Ali said the Copa was all about learning for Qatar, continuing the methodical approach which has already paid dividends.

- ‘It won’t be easy’ -

“We’re not expecting to win, but just to learn because after the World Cup, the Copa America is the biggest competition in the world,” Ali said following the Asian Cup win.

“The weakest teams are in Asia, Asia is the weakest continent for football so in the Copa America we will learn more.” The team source acknowledged to AFP that “it won’t be easy”.

Qatar also has one eye clearly fixed on the 2022 World Cup. “You have to always focus on your overriding goal. The state of Qatar is heading towards a historic event: hosting the 2022 World Cup,” said

Sanchez who was given a mandate last month to lead Qatar into the global soccer spectacle when his contract was extended to 2022.

“We need to make sure the squad are in top form and up to the nation’s expectations. This means that we’ll not be participating just for its own sake, but that we’re determined to leave our mark on World Cup history, especially since this will be Qatar’s first World Cup. “Our participation in the 2019 Copa America can be seen as a significant step in our journey towards the World Cup, a journey that we started some time ago.”

Sanchez said that above all the tournament would be a proving ground for his side’s young stars.

After spending many millions of petro-dollars on their world-class Aspire Academy, and scouring the world for top coaches, Qatar are beginning to recoup their investment.

“Since our squad has many young players, we look forward to gaining as much experience as possible in this high-profile tournament,” said Sanchez.

“Specifically, that means experiencing the Latin American style of play and taking part in a major tournament in front of many fans.

It will also allow us to address important details on and off the pitch.

“I want the team to perform in a proper and honourable way and demonstrate that they’ve progressed. That’s not just measured in accumulating points and progressing to the next round, but if that happens, it would of course be great.” Qatar’s Copa America campaign will begin on June 16 against Paraguay. (afp)

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Destination

International

Baluk Rening beach

NEGARA - It is not much visited by tourists like in Sanur, Nusa Dua or Kuta, yet has its own uniqueness.A visit to the beach is not only able to pamper your eyes and relaxes the mind, but can also treat a variety of ailments such as rheumatism and gout.

Yeah right, the sand Gritty Rening believed could cure diseases especially those mentioned above by means of piles and Submerse the sea water all over the body.

The day apparently more and more tourists visiting the Baluk Rening for the purpose of bathing, just unwind, medical treatment, and a lot more other things are done here. Rening Baluk is in fact already become attractions in Jembrana Regency it long enough and were developed in the early 1990s, but due to the brunt of the mighty storm the economic crisis makes the name Baluk Rening dims.

Domestic tourists, especially those that come from Java island with driving a car, can travel to the attractions of Baluk Rening, to try the benefits of seawater and sand can try healing a supposedly some of the disease. Of course to come there, should be on the day or morning. The location of this tourist attraction, located about four kilometers south of the main streets of Denpasar Gilimanuk, southwards from 5 kilometers to the West of the country.

Some restaurants have been around in the Rening Baluk is that you can visit when hunger ambush. There is also a budget Hotel that has dozens of rooms in case there are tourists who intended to spend the night on the beach.Pacathe economic crisis of 1998 and the bomb blast in Bali a few years ago, Rening Baluk began first settled and expect more and more tourists coming for a visit so that this attraction is getting more and more famous and giving income streams. (IBP/net)

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

‘Bigger house, bigger TV, better garden?’: Nadal won’t target Federer Slam record

PARIS - Rafael Nadal insists he is not obsessed with beating Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams, claiming “you can’t be frustrated all the time because your neighbour has a bigger house than you or a bigger TV or better garden”.

Nadal swept to an historic 12th Roland Garros title with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Sunday.

That took him to 18 majors, just two behind Federer.

At 33, Nadal is the best part of five years younger than the Swiss veteran but with a career blighted by injuries, he refuses to target the all-time record.

“That’s not the way that I see the life,” said the Spaniard.

“It’s a motivation, yes, but it’s not my obsession.

“It’s not what makes me get up every morning or go and train and play.”

Nadal’s caution is well-founded.

By his own estimates, his career-long battles against knee and wrist injuries have cost him “around 15 or even more Grand Slams”.

In the aftermath of his latest Roland Garros triumph, he admitted that after an injury-hit start to 2019, he felt “down mentally and physically” and questioned his love for the sport.

- ‘Not enjoying it’ -

“I was not enjoying it too much, I was worried about my health. I was down mentally and physically after Indian Wells,” said Nadal.

AFP

This combination of pictures created on June 9, 2019 shows Spain’s Rafael Nadal posing with the Mousquetaires Cup (The Musketeers) during his twelve victories in the men’s French Tennis Open at the Roland Garros stadium.

“I was too negative. After Madrid and Barcelona, I was thinking about what I needed to do. I could stop for a while and recover or change my attitude and recover.”

After a loss in the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, where he won just eight games, a second round exit in Acapulco was followed by a withdrawal from the semi-finals in Indian Wells, when a knee injury meant that an eagerly-awaited clash with Federer was shelved.

His return in the clay court season saw semi-finals losses in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid before a much needed title triumph in Rome.

“In 2018, I played nine events and finished just seven of them,” Nadal added.

“I had issues with my knee and surgery on my foot, so many issues in the last 18 months that have made the last few weeks very special.”

Nadal revealed that in Barcelona, he had even locked himself away, questioning where his season was heading.

“Mentally, I lost a little bit of energy, because I had too many issues in a row. It is tough when you receive one after another, and then sometimes you are groggy,” he explained.

“In Barcelona, I was able to stay alone for a couple of hours in the room and think about what’s going on, what I need to do.

“One possibility was to stop for a while and recover my body. And the other was change drastically my attitude and my mentality to play the next couple of weeks.

“Thinking a lot, finally I think I was able to change and was able to fight back for every small improvement.”

On Sunday, Nadal took his Roland Garros record to an astonishing 93 wins and just two losses having previously won the title in 2005-2008, 2010-2014, 2017 and 2018.

It also gave him an 82nd career title and 950th match win.

“All the things that I went through probably give me that extra passion when I am playing, because I know I will not be here forever. “So I just try to be positive, to be intense, and to be passionate about what I am doing.”

Next up for Nadal is his latest assault on Wimbledon, where he has twice been champion, in 2008 and 2010. (afp)

Hamilton takes controversial Canada win after Vettel penalised

MONTREAL - Lewis Hamilton maintained Mercedes’ record winning start to a season on Sunday when he was handed a controversial victory, courtesy of a disputed stewards’ decision to penalise Sebastian Vettel, at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The defending five-time world champion overall leader came home second on the track behind Vettel of Ferrari, but was declared the winner because of a five-second penalty for a racing infringement by the German.

Vettel ran off and re-joined across a strip of grass on lap 50, forcing a charging Hamilton off-track towards a wall. The Briton braked to withdraw from his challenge to take the lead, prompting a race stewards’ inquiry, which resulted in the time penalty.

“Where could I go?” protested Vettel. “They’re stealing the race from us.”

“No, no, no, not like that,” he repeated on his slow-down lap as Hamilton celebrated. “If there wasn’t a wall, I would have gone past him,” said the Briton.

In a bizarre sequence, Vettel at first refused to attend the postrace interviews and stormed away to the Ferrari motor home before, after persuasion by the Italian team, he returned for the podium ceremonies.

As he did so, however, he walked to the parc ferme and moved the numbers used to mark the finishing order — shifting the number one to the blank space for his car, two for Hamilton’s Mercedes and three for Charles Leclerc.

When the pro-Ferrari crowd booed Hamilton, Vettel told them to stop. “Don’t boo Lewis – you should boo these decisions, not him,” he said.

It was Hamilton’s record seventh victory in Canada, and the 78th of his career, and extended Mercedes’ season-opening run to seven successive wins.

Vettel ended up classified second ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Leclerc, fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo of Renault.

Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh in the second Renault ahead of Pierre Gasly of Red Bull, home hero Lance Stroll of Racing Point and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso.

Mercedes congratulated Hamilton on his win. “You forced the error,” they told him.

“I just want to thank the team as we had an engine problem after my crash – and it was not the way I wanted to get past.” (afp)

Charles Coates/Getty Images/AFP

Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 09, 2019 in Montreal, Canada.

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RLD

International

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

11

Rising misery as Ethiopia struggles to stem ethnic tensions

CHERQO - More than a year after his house in southern Ethiopia was razed to the ground, his coffee plantation destroyed and cattle stolen, Teketel Memheru is still too terrified to return home.

The 22-year-old is one of hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from their homes by ethnic clashes in a burgeoning domestic crisis the Ethiopian government is battling to contain.

“I witnessed a neighbour of mine hacked to death and another neighbour was burnt alive in his house. I’m scared to go to farm my agricultural plot for fear of attacks,” said Teketel, an ethnic Gedeo who says he came under attack by Oromos -- the country’s largest ethnic group.

Officials insist that what became the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis in 2018 is under control, and that more than a million people have returned to their homes.

However those working on the ground -- speaking anonymously to avoid a government backlash -- say the displaced are being forcibly returned. They warn that the dire humanitarian conditions are only set to get worse.

“Peace is not restored, I didn’t meet a single person who wants to return under these conditions. People are really scared.

It will get more difficult,” an aid worker told AFP. The worker said that in May local officials and soldiers had entered the camps and ordered people to leave. Most people however had just disappeared once again into a fatigued host community and were living in utter “misery”.

In addition, hunger levels had become a “catastrophe”.

“We believe levels of violence and displacement will continue,” said the worker.

- Reforms open Pandora’s box -

Since coming to power in April 2018 after two years of antigovernment unrest, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed -- himself an Oromo -- has been hailed for his efforts to end the iron-fisted rule of his predecessors.

He has embarked on economic reforms, allowed dissident groups back into the country, and an easing of control has seen Ethiopia jump 40 points in the 2019 press freedom index.

But the loosening of the reins has had a far darker side, as years of tensions between ethnic groups who are divided into nine autonomous regions, have boiled over -- usually over land and resources -- leading to deadly violence in the country of over 100 million people.

One of the hotspots is along the borders of the Gedeo district -- which is part of the vast Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region -- and West Guji in Oromia.

The verdant, rolling hills of this southern region, are where some of the world’s best coffee is grown. It is also the most densely populated part of the country, with residents facing a critical shortage of farmland.

Tensions have long existed between the groups, but last year the Oromo of West Guji attacked the Gedeo living on their side.

The clashes led to the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over a million mostly ethnic Gedeos displaced, according to government figures.

Yonas KIROS / AFP

A group of people Internally Displaced People ( IDP ) pose in front of their shelter on May 20, 2019 at Qercha village, southern Ethiopia.

Similar violence erupted in 2017 between Somalis and Oromos in the southeast Somali region, also displacing around one million people and leaving hundreds dead.

And last month dozens of people were killed in clashes between residents of northern Benishangul Gumuz and Amhara states.

“None of these conflicts are entirely new, but several of them have flared at a larger scale than we’ve seen in the past,” said William Davison, the International Crisis Group’s senior Ethiopia analyst.

He said there were multiple factors at play stoking tensions.

These include the weakening of the once all-powerful ruling EPRDF as a result of years of protests and infighting, an economic slowdown that has hit the poor hard, and a shake-up of the security apparatus under Abiy.

“There has been a loosening of control which has led existing disputes to take on a new dimension,” said Davison.

Add to this a poorly functioning ethnic federal system, opportunities presented by the political transition, and competition for resources in an impoverished nation.

Abiy’s opening has led to ethno-nationalists staking different claims, but at the same time he is loath to lean back on the repressive tactics once used to deter and crack down on intercommunal violence.

“Abiy has been clear his government is disinclined to use past methods and send in police or soldiers to apply lethal force and conduct mass arrests on the spot.”

- ‘We have seen no peace’ -

Ethiopia’s Minister of Peace Muferiat Kamil last week said that all displaced people would be returned to their homes by the end of June, and officials have denied forcing anyone to return.

However in the town of Yirgecheffe, a stadium housing thousands of displaced people was cleared out by police ahead of a visit by journalists in late May, another aid agency official said on condition of anonymity.

“The government pushing people to return to their home communities prematurely will only add to the ongoing suffering,” the US-based Refugees International said in May. According to World Vision, only 145,516 people have returned home from Gedeo and hundreds are still lining up for food aid.

“There’s a concern that there hasn’t been anything like sufficient reconciliation to be confident about the safety of people returning home,” said Davison.

Teketel is one of the lucky ones, having managed to set up a small shop in Cherqo village in Gedeo. But he longs to return home to farm his land.

“We have seen no peace since Abiy came to power. Peace is the most important thing for a human being, not only to farm, but also to cultivate and eat what is farmed.” (afp)

Climate activists blockade cruise ship in German port

BERLIN - Climate activists using small boats and climbing equipment blockaded a cruise ship for six hours in a German harbour to protest against its carbon emissions, police said Monday.

About 50 protesters with banners reading “Cruises kill climate” Sunday delayed the departure of the Zuiderdam, operated by Holland America Line, from the North Sea port of Kiel.

The ship finally left around 10 pm (2000 GMT) for Copenhagen after police had temporarily detained 46 activ-

ists, several of whom had climbed onto the ship and onto a harbourside crane.

The activists were protesting against the “catastrophic local and global consequences of cruises” as well as what they claimed are the crew’s poor working conditions.

The group, which calls itself “Smash Cruiseshit”, said on Twitter that heavy fuel-powered “cruise ships contribute to the heating of the planet” and generate soot particles that settle on Arctic ice. (afp)

AP Photo

A man carries a child as he watches Mount Sinabung spewing volcanic materials into the air during an eruption, in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, June 9, 2019. Sinabung which has sporadically erupted since 2010 after being dormant for 400 years, is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

Mt. Sinabung erupts in western Indonesia

JAKARTA - A column of thick ash was spewed seven km high to the sky from the crater of Mount Sinabung volcano in Sumatra Island of western Indonesia on Sunday, the country’s national volcanology agency said.

Belching of ash and smoke was shot at 16:28 p.m. Jakarta time, followed by a spread of hot ash to the southeast and

south of the crater by up to 3.5 km and three km respectively, the agency said in a statement. The agency, however, said there was so far no report of damages or casualty.

Mt. Sinabung volcano is at the second highest alert level with no-go zone of five km from the crater, it said.

Residents living near the flank of the volcano were urged to use masks when rains of ash pour down, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nu-

groho said.

Those living alongside the rivers with upstream in the slope of the volcano were warned of cold lava floods during torrential rains, the spokesman told Xinhua in a text message.

Mt. Sinabung, 2,475 meters high, is located in Karo district of North Sumatra province. In its eruption in 2014, 16 people were killed and thousands displaced. Mt. Sinabung is among 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia. (ant)

Legal process over May-22 riot to be conducted transparently: Wiranto

Thomas EISENKRAETZER / dpa / AFP

A picture taken on June 9, 2019 shows climate activists of the “Smash Cruiseshit” group on a small boat during an operation to block the Zuiderdam cruise ship at Kiel’s harbour to protest against its carbon emissions.

Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Wiranto has made assurance that the police will be fair and transparent in conducting legal proceedings in connection with the riots erupting on May 21-22, 2019.

“Our brothers also continue to face various legal issues related to the election that arise. The legal process over the riots that broke out on May 21-22 after the announcement of election results, of course, will run fairly, honestly,

and transparently,” Wiranto emphasized while leading the ministerial meeting at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs here Monday.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, Attorney General A. M. Prasetyo, TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, Head of BIN General Budi Gunawan, and Head

of the National Terrorism Prevention Agency (BNPT) Suhardi Alius were present at the meeting.

He urged the police to be as clear as possible in its approach to deliver the result of the investigation into the May-22 action to the public.

This is deemed necessary, particularly when speculations are currently rife among members in the community over several legal issues that are being processed, especially in connection with the

arrest of key figures, who can immediately be neutralized.

“Yes, the right way forward is to inform the public as lucidly as possible about the legal process that took place. The process related to the investigation, making the police investigation report, and so forth should not create new speculations.

Hence, the community should be informed clearly about how we consistently enforce applicable laws in Indonesia. This is crucial, “ Wiranto elaborated.

The minister revealed that currently, his side has prioritized maintaining political stability.

Furthermore, the session to resolve disputes over the 2019 general election at the Constitutional Court is drawing closer.

“We are optimistic that the contestants will stay consistent and be able to accept the Constitutional Court’s decision, as it will prevent the problem from getting drawn out. Moreover, stability is guaranteed,” he added. (afp)

12

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

BUSINESS

International

Bali News

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

5

Come on, Explore Uniqueness of Ubud Village by Bicycle

Once upon a time, try to travel in Ubud village by cycling. The atmosphere must be different. Other than having exercise, you can also enjoy cultural attractions of the local community up close. Moreover, you can interact with them. Indeed, between Ubud and cycling activities are two inseparable things.

Although there is a variety of transportation means at this tourism village, cycling remains an option for tourists wishing to explore the enjoyable tourist area. So, don’t be surprised if most accommodations provide bicycle facility for tourists desiring to enjoy the local countryside. Alam Puisi Villa Ubud at Sembuwuk village, for instance, also offers this facility.

General Manager of Alam Puisi Villa Ubud, Budiarta, said that cycling is one of the very popular activities among foreign tourists traveling to Ubud. This activity is in great demand. Since the Ubud area is identical to cycling, the tour-

ist accommodation should provide bicycle. “This bicycle can be used by tourists wishing to look around the villa,” he said.

In addition, the Alam Puisi Villa Ubud also has a cycling route, consisting of long track that starts from Ubud to Kintamani and medium track only located around Ubud while enjoying the local natural beauty. “This cycling track is the most in demand by tourists in Ubud,” said Budiarta.

Cycling trails in the Ubud area are very easy to pass through. On this route, tourists are introduced to traditional agrarian activities posing the main livelihood of Ubud people. However, tourists will also be introduced to several other cultural activities. Cycling paths have been adjusted and combined with natural and cultural pathways.

As the advantages of this track, tourists can enjoy the true natural beauty of Bali and cultural activities because they will be invited to stop by for a moment where the elements of Balinese culture are still maintained. Ubud as one of the

cultural centers in Bali also become a concern of guests.

Moreover, each side of Ubud has many uniqueness that can be enjoyed by tourists.

The terrain traversed by tourists is quite interesting, starting from the snaking contours of the road passing through the rice fields, reeds in the hill area of ??Campuhan, Ubud, to the area owned by local residents and many other beautiful sceneries that can be explored. For package of long route, tourists cycle from Ubud to Kintamani with several choices, one of which is cycling from Puncak Penulisan, Sukawana village, Kintamani.

This track invites tourists to look around the mountains through the eastern path by crossing forest, seeing mountain views, rural environment and then crossing the mountains behind Mount Batur with the overlay of Mount Batur view.

For cycling in Kintamani, the tour will end at Toya Bungkah village located right at the foot of Mount Batur and close to Lake Batur. (kmb)

AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

Migration officials and Military Police man a checkpoint on the highway, in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, Friday, June 7, 2019. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexico are set to take effect Monday as planned, the White House said Friday, even as negotiators continued to meet to try to stave off his latest push to force the U.S. ally to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

Why Trump’s trade wars are pressuring both economy and Fed

WASHINGTON — A sharp pullback in U.S. hiring for May intensified fears that the economy has weakened and that many employers have grown nervous, in part from President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars.

Yet the stock market soared and bond yields fell because investors found a reason to cheer: The tepid employment report magnified their expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the coming months, perhaps beginning in July, to support the economy.

Trump, who has railed against the Fed for not cutting rates this year, may get his wish, if only because his trade conflicts with China, Mexico and other key nations are posing an economic threat.

It isn’t at all clear how effective Fed rate cuts would be when mortgage rates and other borrowing costs in the United States are already historically low. What’s more, rate cuts carry their own risks. With the Fed’s own key shortterm rate already low, further reductions could weaken the central bank’s ability to fight a future recession. Lower Fed rates might also contribute to dangerous bubbles in stocks or other assets.

On top of that, the Fed’s policymakers face an unusually uncertain environment. Though the White House’s threats to impose tariffs on all Mexican and Chinese imports are pressuring the economy, a resolution to those conflicts could quickly end the damage they might be causing. In that case, the Fed might have cut rates prematurely.

A rate cut “is a bit of insurance in case the economy deteriorates more quickly,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax consulting firm.

Employers added just 75,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday , only about a third of April’s pace.

The unemployment rate held at a five-decade low of 3.6%.

So far this year, employers are adding 164,000 jobs a month,

enough to keep lowering the jobless rate over time, but down from last year’s pace.

Economic growth is projected to slow, with most analysts forecasting just 1.5% growth at an annual rate in the AprilJune quarter, after a healthy 3.1% in the first three months of the year.

Some economists worry that growth is already slowing even before the full effects of the trade fights have kicked in.

For most of the spring, investors thought that a deal would be reached with China, after Trump had imposed tariffs last year.

Early last month, Trump turned more combative: He suddenly raised the import taxes on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. The president argued that the increase was necessary because China had backed away from parts of an emerging deal.

And last Friday, Trump said he would impose 5% tariffs on all imports from Mexico, and would ratchet those duties another 5% each month until they hit 25% in October, unless Mexico stopped the flow of migrants through its country from Central America.

The U.S. imported nearly $350 billion in goods from Mexico last year, including autos and auto parts, electrical components, and produce such as tomatoes, avocadoes, and cucumbers. If those duties were to reach 25%, they would restrain U.S. economic growth and raise prices for businesses and consumers.

“It’s a bad sign that we’re already getting a slowdown, because there’s less margin for error, less room to absorb shocks” from the trade war, said Josh Wright, chief economist at recruiting software firm iCIMS and a former Federal Reserve researcher.

Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that there is a “good chance” that his administration and Mexico will reach an agreement to stave off the tariffs.

All of which adds another level of complexity for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. It isn’t clear how long the taxes

on Mexican goods, if imposed, would remain in place. And Trump is scheduled to meet China’s President Xi Jingping at the end of the month at a global summit in Japan. Washington and Beijing could make progress toward a deal. Or, if talks fail, Trump could proceed with his threat to impose tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports that haven’t yet been taxed.

There are some signs the trade fights are already souring the economy. Companies are reining in their orders for industrial machinery and other manufactured goods. Exports have also slowed, in part because of retaliatory tariffs imposed

by China and Mexico and because of sluggish growth in Europe and Asia.

Manufacturers have added just 5,000 jobs in the past three months — much weaker than last year’s monthly average of 21,000. U.S. factory output has fallen in three of the past four months.

“That’s the trade war coming home to roost,” Brusuelas said.

Brusuelas argues that the trade wars have placed an “uncertainty tax” on the economy, which has discouraged employers from hiring or investing in new equipment. A Fed rate cut, by boosting financial markets, might shore up business and consumer confidence and prompt some additional spending by wealthier households that would benefit from higher stock prices.

“The Fed can’t solve this problem,” he said. “But it can mitigate the uncertainty tax that the trade fight has put on the economy.”

The Fed could wait until September to cut rates to get a better read of how the trade fights play out. Yet doing so could cause the financial markets to react impatiently and fall further, worsening business and consumer confidence.

“The Fed is in an awkward position because of how quickly external events are moving,” Wright said. “It will be very hard to stick this landing.” (ap)

Delicious and Healthy Traditional Menu

When vacationing in Bali, at times you need to taste some traditional local menus. The Island of Gods community has various types of menus whose preparation is simple, distinctive and healthy. For instance, there is purple taro soup. This cuisine has even existed since ancient times. It was commonly consumed by farmers whose lives are simple

but still happy.

Purple taro soup has indeed been crushed by the progress of the times following the rampant emergence of ready-toeat foods. Actually, the purple taro is an ingredient richly containing potassium and calcium which maintain metabolic stability and heart health. This menu offers a good taste and contains lots of fiber as well as vitamins A and C. Along with the development of Bali tourism promoting cultural tourism, traditional food existing in the past is discovered and then processed into prominent menus. Such various servings do not only have good taste, but also look attractive and beautiful. Hotel and restaurant chefs having the ability to create and process menus, indeed continue to explore and develop it.

Taro is a plant cultivated by people of the past. Its tubers were used as a substitute of staple food. Stems and leaves are commonly used for pig fodder mixed with bran and other food scraps. So, do not be surprised, the domestic pig farmers in the past had healthy meat without chemicals.

Let’s be back to the purple taro soup. This has become a

featured menu at several hotels and restaurants in the tourist area of ??Ubud. Taro soup is usually used as the opening menu. Sometimes it is also combined with walking programs around the village as well as yoga package and other traditional nuanced activities. Surely, the servings are adapted to tourists’ appetite with distinctive taste.

Preparation of this menu is not too difficult. First of all, you have to choose a large, young purple taro stem. Peel the stem and slice it ??thinly, so the sap and mucus can easily come out. The sliced ??stems are then soaked in the salt water for about 30 minutes. After that, squeeze them repeatedly with the aim to make the stem soft and release the entire sap and mucus.

Meanwhile, the seasoning uses Balinese spices such as turmeric, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and shallot. All of these spices are only pushed to produce a clearer soup. The seasoning is then stir-fried and added chicken stock. The taro stem is put into a pan and add some salt and pepper.

Ultimately, cook for about 30 minutes. Having been cooked, take out and it’s ready to be served. (kmb)

4

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Bali News

International

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

Spiciness of serombotan makes addicted

Running the business of producing tofu can indeed be a promising choice.

IBP/kmb

Having run tofu business for 11 years

Now Sutapa gains profit worth millions of rupiahs

GIANYAR — Running the business of producing tofu can indeed be a promising choice.

Nyoman Sutapa, for instance, has been running the business for eleven years. Right now, his tofu products have spread to a number of public markets in Gianyar district even to hotels and restaurants with turnover of millions of rupiahs.

Sutapa added that he had been involved in the business since 2008. At that time, he decided to stop being a security guard, and started a business to produce tofu.

“In 2008 I resigned from the position as hotel security guard. Even though it was a five-star hotel, I think it will be more flexible to run my own business,” said the father of two children when met on Sunday (Jun. 9).

He himself preferred to run tofu businesses because this food has become a basic necessity. “Especially for vegetarians, so many people also come to purchase directly at home,” he explained.

Sutapa said that every day he can make 30 molds.

One mold can consist of 50 pieces of tofu. Then, 10 pieces of tofu are sold for IDR 10,000. Today, the tofu is sold to a number of public markets, such as Sayan Market, Singakerta Market as well as basic food vendors that are open every morning, including a number of restaurants in the Ubud area.

His tofu business indeed continued to increase.

Surely, the business is not free from obstacles. Sutapa admitted that from the beginning he repeatedly made mixture in order to get the best quality. He experienced a number of obstacles, such as weather factors, a surge in soybean prices, and the resilience of tofu itself. “I don’t use preservatives so that two days after the time of production the tofu should have been cooked,” he said.

Sutapa added that his hard work had begun to bear fruits after two years of operations. So far, he is able to buy several cars for delivery. “Well, there are operational cars because the customers are increasing, ranging from stalls, markets to hotels and restaurants,” he said. (kmb35)

SEMARAPURA — When visiting the town of Semarapura, it is incomplete without trying this cuisine. The spicy flavor is different from other foods in general. Those who have tried and tasted the spiciness will surely get addicted.

Serombotan or spicy assorted vegetable salad is no longer strange to Balinese people.

This Balinese traditional cuisine has become an icon of Klungkung district and outside so that Klungkung gets a nickname as ‘the region of serombotan.’

The appearance of this cuisine to reach its popularity is in fact quite simple. A senior figure of Klungkung community, Mangku Made Sukanta Wahyu, recently told that in the 1950s the serombotan only consisted of water spinach vegetable with splash of seasoning. In the past, the water spinach in Klungkung could be mostly found at Jumpai village to the coast of Unda. Meanwhile, the splash of seasoning is a very spicy liquid sauce.

Formerly, this food was very popular among the Klungkung people but those providing this food were only a handful of people. At that time, they usually hung out in front of Klungkung Market and around Klungkung Royal Palace. Fondness of the Klungkung people for this food has increasingly made Balinese culinary specialty more developed. Sukanta asserted that until the 1970s water spinach with splash of seasoning was increasingly popular in the remote areas of the Klungkung region. More-

over, it was obligatory menu at every people’s home. This food is increasingly growing with other types of food ingredients like grated coconut sauce, bean, long bean, spinach and sprouts and various other types of vegetables.

“After this menu has grown rapidly with a variety of vegetables, the name is known as serombotan,” said Sukanta while remembering the happy times of serombotan becoming a culinary pride of Balinese people. Even though he has not been tasting serombotan for a long time, he can still imagine the spicy flavor of the seasoning making him addictive. However, because of his age, he claimed to have rarely consumed serombotan.

One of the famous merchants in Klungkung, Jero Ratna, said that today it is one of the favorite foods and pride of the Klungkung community. She explained that each merchant offers distinctive flavor. The difference in flavor depends on the merchants in processing the roasted coconut spices and then mixed with authentic Balinese spices.

“After that, the splash of seasoning is determining. The hallmark of serombotan is the spicy flavor of seasoning that makes customers addicted,” said the merchant who is always flooded by orders. Now, serombotan can almost be found at every corner of the Semarapura town. Aside from the Klungkung people, residents from other districts also often come to Klungkung just to buy food for their relatives’ gifts. (kmb31)

IBP/net

This Balinese traditional cuisine has become an icon of Klungkung district and outside so that Klungkung gets a nickname as ‘the region of serombotan.

13

Six convicted over rape, murder of eight-yearold Indian girl

PATHANKOT - Six men were convicted Monday over the notorious 2018 gang rape and murder in India of an eight-year-old girl from a Muslim nomadic tribe that provoked horror and stoked inter-religious tensions.

VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP

Kazakh President and presidential candidate Kassym-Jomart Tokayev holds his ballot at a polling station during Kazakhstan’s presidential elections in Nur-Sultan on June 9, 2019.

Hand-picked successor sweeps to victory in Kazakhstan vote

NUR-SULTAN - The handpicked successor of Kazakhstan’s longtime ruler has won a sweeping victory in a presidential election, authorities said on Monday, after a voting day marred by protests and arrests.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took 70.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, the Central Election Commission said, with his nearest rival, opposition candidate Amirzhan Kosanov, taking 16.2 percent.

Tokayev’s victory was never in doubt after he received the blessing of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led the Central Asian nation for three decades before his shock resignation in March.

But the vote Sunday was marked by the biggest protests the Muslimmajority country has seen in at least three years, as demonstrators urged a boycott of what they said was a fixed election.

The interior ministry said about 500 people were arrested on Sunday, with deputy minister Marat Kozhayev blaming “radical elements” for holding “unsanctioned” rallies.

Activists denounced the arrests and there were claims of ballot stuffing, but Tokayev insisted the election had been “a competition”.

“This shows that our level of political culture has seriously increased. There is much work ahead,” he said in comments broadcast Monday on state television.

Authorities said they would investigate all allegations of vote violations.

No vote in Kazakhstan has ever been recognised as fully democratic by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which sent more than 300 observers to monitor this election.

The OSCE mission is expected to provide its verdict on the polls at 0900 GMT on Monday.

Tokayev’s opponents were quick to congratulate him on victory, including second-place finisher Kosanov, a journalist who positioned himself as the ballot’s sole opposition candidate.

“This political transition will take place with the participation of the people,” Kosanov said, criticising “foreign-based” opposition figures who had encouraged voters to boycott the poll.

“People are ready for an equal dialogue with authorities,” he said.

Kosanov had previously said that if the count was fair the result would go to a second round. (afp)

Sexual violence, including against children, is rife in India and outrage over the so-called Kathua case contributed to the government introducing the death penalty for child rapists.

According to the charge sheet, the girl was abducted while she was out grazing horses and taken to a village in the Kathua district of the northern Indian region of Jammu on January 10 last year.

In an ordeal lasting five days, she was sedated and held in a Hindu temple, repeatedly raped and then strangled and bludgeoned to death.

Investigations suggested that the girl was targeted in order to strike fear in her nomad community and drive them out of the area.

The six Hindu men were due to be sentenced later, prosecution lawyer Mubeen Farooqui told reporters outside a special court in Pathankot, in Punjab state.

They face the death penalty with a minimum of life imprisonment. A seventh man was acquitted while an eighth person, who claims to be underage, faces a separate trial.

“We will appeal against the convictions in a higher court,” defence lawyer H.S. Pathania said.

Among the three convicted for rape and murder were village head Sanjhi Ram and special police officer Deepak Khajuria. Three others were found guilty

of taking bribes and destroying evidence, but still face life imprisonment under strict conspiracy laws.

- Sexual violence -

India has the death penalty for the most brutal murders and terror attacks. The last execution happened in 2015 over bombings in Mumbai in 1993.

The Kathua case sparked two days of violent protests in Jammu and demonstrations in several other places across India, including in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party also drew flak after two of its members participated in rallies in support of the accused.

The protests were reminiscent of those that followed the fatal gang rape of a Delhi student on a bus in 2012 that made headlines around the world.

The Supreme Court had shifted the Kathua trial to Punjab after the girl’s family and their lawyer complained of death threats.

Sexual violence, including against children, remains unabated in India. Nearly 20,000 child rape cases were reported in 2016, according to official data, while a 2014 UN report said one in three rape victims was a minor.

Jammu and Kashmir is India’s only Muslim-majority state, but the southern Jammu region -- where the rape and murder took place -- is Hindu-dominated.

On Monday hundreds of police were on duty in Pathankot for the trial. Wary of new protests, security was also heavy in Kathua town and surrounding Muslim areas. (afp)

NARINDER NANU / AFP

Media gather around a Punjab Police vehicle carrying the seven accused for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, as verdict is expected to be delivered at the district court in Pathankot on June 10, 2019. Seven Hindu men will be sentenced at a later date.

14

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Science

International

Bali News

International

Chemicals in biodegradable food containers can leach into compost INDIANA - Composting biodegradable food containers cuts the amount of trash that gets sent to a landfill. But the practice may serve up some unintended consequences for human health.

That’s because the items often contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to help repel water and oil. These persistent chemicals can leach out of the packaging and end up in compost, researchers report May 29 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. When that compost is used, PFAS could be taken up by plants and ultimately accumulate in the bodies of people, though the health effects are still unclear.

The scientists measured perfluoroalkyl acids, or PFAAs, a subset of PFAS formed by microbial degradation, in compost from 10 commercial facilities. Seven of these facilities accepted compostable food containers, and three didn’t. With the food containers in the mix, the team measured PFAAs at concentrations from about 29 to 76 micrograms per kilogram of compost, while compost from facilities that didn’t accept the containers contained less than 8 micrograms PFAAs per kilogram of compost.

“There was a huge difference in the PFAS levels between those two groups,” says Laurel Schaider, an environmental chemist and public health researcher at Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Mass., not involved in the study. People expect

IBP/net

A worrisome class of chemicals called PFAS are found in some compostable food containers and many other consumer items like nonstick cookware. The compounds can leach out of the containers and build up in compost.

the things they compost to break down entirely and become a sustainable source of nutrients for plants, so it’s concerning that chemicals in compostable items can persist, she says.

As a class, PFAS include thousands of compounds, many with useful properties. They show up in flame-retardant carpets, in nonstick coatings on cookware and myriad other places. “Everybody’s happy to have all those conveniences, but the trade-off … is pretty huge because [the compounds] don’t go away,” says Linda Lee, an environmental fate chemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Microbes can usually help break down chemicals in general, but for this persistent bunch, the organisms typically transform the compounds into other PFAS. A chain of carbon forms the backbone of PFAS to which fluorine atoms are attached. Lee and colleagues found that most of the PFAS in compost samples were shorter-chain ones rather than more notorious, longer-chained perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, which have been largely phased out in the United States. Shorter-chain PFAS don’t hang out as long in the body as their longer cousins, but they can more easily move from organic material in soil to water and be taken up by plants.

Studies have linked PFAS to negative health effects including high cholesterol, lowered fertility and birth weight, as well as testicular and kidney cancer, Schaider says. But only a handful of PFAS, including PFOS and PFOA, have been thoroughly investigated for their potential health effects.

Little is known about how most of the ones detected in the compost samples affect human health.

The researchers analyzed the compost because Washington state was concerned that it might have been a mistake to allow composting of food containers. In part because of the team’s results, the state passed the Healthy Food Packaging Act, which bans PFAS in paper food packaging beginning in 2022 if the state can find something to replace the compounds.

“It’s a really strong study,” says Jennifer Guelfo, an environmental engineer at Texas Tech University in Lubbock not involved in the research. With this information on which PFAS show up in compost, scientists can start to figure out what health risks might be associated with those chemicals, and if the chemicals should be used in this type of packaging at all, she says. “Now is the time to look at the uses of these compounds … and limit their uses to those scenarios where they are absolutely needed.” (net)

Tiny structures in dragonfish teeth turn them into invisible daggers

CALIFORNIA - In the deep sea, dragonfish lure smaller fish near their gaping jaws with beardlike attachments capped with a light. But the teeth of the pencil-sized predators don’t gleam in that glow.

Instead, dragonfish teeth are transparent and hard to see, thanks to nanoscale structures that reduce the amount of light scattered by the teeth, researchers report June 5 in Matter.

The clear daggers vanish into the animals’ dark mouths, probably to help dragonfish surprise their prey, says study coauthor Marc Meyers, a materials scientist at the University of California, San Diego. “They are mini-monsters of the ocean.”

The teeth of dragonfish are similar to those of most animals: They contain a dense outer layer of enamel-like material that coats a hard tissue called dentin. But nano-

structures in both layers set these tiny chompers apart from others’ pearly whites.

Transmission electron microscopy of the teeth of one dragonfish species (Aristostomias scintillans) revealed tiny crystals, around 20 nanometers in size, in the enamel.

In the dentin, the researchers found nanosized rods of the protein collagen coated with the mineral hydroxyapatite. If bigger, such structures would scatter light, but because of their small size, the light passes by with less being deflected, the scientists say. The teeth themselves are also very thin, which also helps transmit light.

Dragonfish aren’t the only creatures with transparent teeth, but this is the first study to look at how such teeth interact with light, Meyers says. The scientists captured the fish with a net from their ocean abode at a depth of around 500 meters. (net)

IBP/net

The spearlike teeth of deep-sea dragonfish are translucent, thanks to nanostructures that allow more light to pass through.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

3

Wayang Wong of Griya Penida

Sacred art maintaining ancient style

WAYANG Wong art in Jembrana develops in Griya Penida, Anyar hamlet, Batuagung.

This art is one of the ancestral sacred arts passed down through hundreds of years. The Wayang Wong troupe with old masks struggled to still exist in the midst of the onslaught of modernization.

IBP/wit

The visits to tourist attractions in Gilimanuk Bay experienced an increase during the Eid holidays.

Visit to Gilimanuk Bay attraction increases on long holidays

NEGARA - The visits to tourist attractions in Gilimanuk Bay experienced an increase during the Eid holidays. Visitors are not only local tourists but domestic and foreign tourists that intentionally came to enjoy the nature of the region of Makepung or buffalo races. One of them is a visit to the tourist attraction in the area of Gilimanuk Bay, Melaya.

Since last week, the visit of tourist wishing to enjoy the natural panorama at Shiva Park, marine tourism and mangrove tours increased. In addition to Jembrana residents, there were also visitors from a number of regions in East Java and some foreign tourists.

In addition to the beautiful natural scenery of West Bali, the ease of access to the location is also a consideration for tourists coming to vacation in Gilimanuk Bay. Soni Yudikusuma, 31, one of the visitors, admitted the visit to the tourist attraction, also known as Secret Bay, had increased since the beginning of the long Eid holidays.

According to him, before the Eid, the visitors mostly consisted of young people from Jembrana and Buleleng. But after the feast day the visit increased, and many come from Java with their families. There were also some foreign tourists. He said that visitors were interested in enjoying marine tourism and mangrove tours.

In this Gilimanuk Bay tourist attraction, there are dozens of jukung or traditional boat serving visitors that will enjoy marine tourism and mangrove tours. Although the visits increase when compared to the usual days, according to him, the boat operators from community groups coalesced into the Paguyuban Wisata Tirta do not raise their rental rates.

He said that they usually get only 3 trips, but for this holiday they get up to seven trips.

“The tariff is fixed namely IDR 150,000 for 10 people in once trip,” he said. After the long Eid holidays, he hoped the visit to Gilimanuk Bay will increase again during the weekend breaks.

Asanudin, 45, from Jember, East Java, claimed to have come along with his family to enjoy the natural atmosphere of West Bali at Gilimanuk Bay. He said the access to Gilimanuk Bay is now very easy. “By riding a train, the ticket is only IDR 8,000 and does not take him up to two hours, he has arrived in Ketapang. Then, he just needs to cross directly,” said this factory worker.

Meanwhile, a tourist guide who escorted European guests, Dewa Adi, said that foreign tourists are attracted to West Bali because of its natural beauty.

According to him, foreign tourists name Jembrana as the virgin Bali, where the beauty of its nature and the life of local people will become its own attraction. (kmb)

This mask drama with religious and sacred nuances remains to maintain the old style aged hundreds of years. From the beginning, the performance of this Wayang Wong is not for commercial use but for religious rituals (yadnya) taking segments of the Ramayana epic. Besides, the mask drama is not played in full because it requires players up to 50 people and the story is long.

Senior figure of Griya Penida, Batuagung village, Ida Bagus Putra, recently said that such art is estimated to have developed since the ancestors came to Batuagung in 1800. Aside from the 50 unique masks, the group also still maintains a set of gamelan, including gender, drums and cymbals.

For a long time, the sacred masks have not been used and are stored in the wooden box (container of puppets) in Griya Penida. Due to lack of regeneration, the art closely related to the arrival of senior figures of Griya Penida had vacuumed for several years. Finally, disaster happened and psychical things starting from flash floods, diseases to long drought were experienced by residents of the hamlet and the old village in Jembrana. After that, it was traced psychically by senior figures, and they got revelation if the disaster arose because there were 50 heirlooms of masks in unused wooden box.

It was true when the box was opened, where some masks were found to have lost. Two masks, namely the Maruti and Tualen were found by a resident being submerged in a niche of Tukadaya River crossing the hamlet. The masks were known to belonging to the Griya Penida (family) so they were returned. Ultimately, the masks gathered again in the box. Since then, there has been a desire to pay attention to, care for and perform the masks according to the existing order. Today, the box is stored in the family shrine of Griya Penida. After collecting the masks, the calamities experienced in succession gradually recovered and returned to normal.

“Performance is only made in particular time, tell-

ing the Ramayana epic along with ape troops, so there are about 50 kinds of masks,” explained the IB Putra.

Each wayang wong mask has different design from the others. Puppet figures in the Ramayana include the Maruti, Sugriwa, Subali, Anggada, Nila, Rahwana, Kumbakarna, demon troops, Merdah, Sangut and Delem.

Other than by the family of Griya Penida, it is also often performed by the artists from outside the griya (Brahmin priest’s house). The masks are also given ritual procession every Tumpek Wayang. When playing the puppet drama, the griya family will recruit players from the community outside the griya at Batuagung village as well as the elders from outside the griya.

Since this is classified into sacred art, wayang wong is performed during ceremonies such as ngenteg linggih, ngaben and other ritual processions. As the stories are quite time-consuming and involving colossal players, the performance only takes the segment of medeeng or follows the ngebeji procession. Meanwhile, it is rarely performed with full stories but only staged at certain times.

Specialty of the Wayang Wong lies in the stories, dances and masks with the unique and distinctive shape. The mask has magical energy and is made sacred. The mask is estimated to have existed since the arrival of senior figures of Griya Penida or hundreds of years ago. “If traced, our family came to Jembrana in 1800. Possibly, after that the masks already existed,” he explained.

In addition to the masks, another heritage aged hundreds of years old is a wooden rice barn having 12 pillars located in the courtyard of Griya’s family shrine. Coloring material used to decorate the mask is also retained in its original order to maintain the original color of these masks by rubbing cane pieces, with the aim of making the color of the mask dull into bright. Psychically, it is considered sacred and no one dares to tamper the masks Only in the rumbing section is made of leather, often polished with paint. At certain times like day of worship, the family members of griya also often find the mask box generating noises. Moreover, they are mutually colliding like there is a struggle in the box.

On that account, the family of Griya Penida will not be arbitrarily performing the wayang wong to avoid the fading of sacredness and divine inspiration of the art. (olo)

This art is one of the ancestral sacred arts passed down through hundreds of years.

IBP/olo

2

Bali News

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

International

Balinese native weaving fabrics worried to extinct next five to ten years

THERE is an embroidery fabric technique currently favored by Balinese people because of its cheaper price. Surely, it is worried to cause the original Balinese woven fabric to go extinct in the next five to ten years. This is quite unfortunate considering that Balinese woven fabric is a cultural heritage that should be preserved.

To be able to maintain this Balinese cultural heritage, Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council (Dekranasda), Mrs. Putri Suastini Koster, invited small and medium industry (IKM) craftsmen and players, especially those applying embroidery techniques, to create their own designs and never imitate the designs of Balinese woven fabrics, mainly the existing songket.

This was explained by Putri Koster when briefing the participants of Bali Arts Festival (BAF) exhibition on Sunday

(Jun. 9) at the Ksiraarnawa Hall of the Bali Art Center. She affirmed that in the past Bali was able to provide clothing needs from upstream to downstream. This means that from the supply of raw materials to the weavers were all available. “Today, the cotton tree as the upstream of raw material for our yarn has gone and must be provided from outside.

Unavoidably, the weavers are threatened with extinction in next five to ten years because consumers rarely buy the products,” she said.

The threat of extinction against Balinese weavers affecting the extinction of the original Balinese woven fabric happened due to the rise of embroidery techniques on cloth where the motif follows the Balinese weaving motif, especially the songket motif passed down from generation to generation.

“Now, there are many embroidery techniques taking the songket motif. This product is compared by consumers,” said Putri Koster.

For housewives becoming consumers will definitely choose embroidery techniques because other than being cheaper, the appearance is also similar to the woven fabric where the motif is the same and the thread is shinier. As comparison, the price of embroidery fabrics is around IDR 400,000 to IDR 500,000, while woven fabrics with cagcag techniques can cost up to millions to tens of millions. Such minimal interest of consumers in buying Balinese woven fabrics and the switch to embroidered fabrics will eventually eliminate the Balinese woven fabric business. “Within five or ten years from now, weavers in Bali will shut down their business because their products are rarely bought,” said Putri Koster.

In order to develop together and preserve Balinese woven fabrics, Putri Koster invited craftsmen and SME business people in the fabric field to create their own motif for embroidery fabrics. For woven fabrics, the existing motif needs to be reconstructed and reproduced so there is diversity and sustainability. Another way is that small and medium industry of embroidery fabrics must encourage consumers to wear embroidered fabrics for clothing because of its lighter texture while heavy woven fabrics are used for kamen or sarong. “If carried out together, we surely can improve welfare evenly, both the woven and embroidered fabric craftsmen,” hoped Putri Koster.

One of the embroidery cloth small and medium industry players, Jro Puspawati Saskara, agreed with the idea of Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council (Dekranasda).

According to her, as a small and medium industry player selling embroidery technique so far she has been selling her own motives and never imitates the existing woven fabric techniques.

Jro Puspa added that currently Balinese weavers are also very hard to be found because the results of their works are seldom sold. Finally, most weavers switch to other professions, one of which is working as handphone counter attendant. “They are more proud to be handphone counter attendant than being weavers. Therefore, I strongly support the invitation of Chairperson of the Bali National Craft Council to make own motif for embroidered fabrics to preserve Balinese woven fabrics,” she said. (kmb24)

Mangupura Badung Declaration of anti-plastic bags

Customary villages hoped to participate actively MANGUPURA - To reduce the use of plastic bags, the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) summoned all the chiefs of customary village in Badung for the Mangupura Declaration, Badung Anti-Plastic Bag on Sunday (Jun. 9) at the DLHK office, Badung Civic Center. Through the declaration, all customary villages in Badung are expected to play an active role in reducing the plastic bags use based on local wisdom.

Head of the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency, I Putu Eka Merthawan, explained that commitment of Badung district

government, in this case the regent of Badung, to fighting plastic waste has been done from the beginning.

He stated that two Regent Regulations were simultaneously issued as legal basis in the implementation of reducing plastic waste. They are Regent Regulation No. 48/2018 concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling through Waste Bank, and Regent Regulation No. 47/2018 concerning Reduction on the Use of Plastic Bags.

Interestingly, Badung implements the regulation by involving local wisdom where the reduction

on the use of plastic bags is set forth in the awig-awig or perarem bylaw of the customary village concerned.

He explained the Regent Regulation No.47/2018 more specifically regulates the reduction in the use of plastic bags as one of the main sources of plastic waste.

“To implement this Regent Regulation, we highlight local wisdom by involving customary villages.

Article 3 states that regulation of customary village in the area of antiplastic bag based on local wisdom handled by customary village must be governed in the awig-awig or prarem of local customary village,”

explained Eka Merthawan.

He said that by involving customary village, the implementation of the Regulation on Reducing the Use of Plastic Bags will be more effective. In this case, the customary village will be made into a bumper to convince the world about the sanitation problem in the environment, especially the one related to the problem of reducing plastic waste.

This is very important so that tourists are not afraid or hesitant to come to Bali. “To start reducing the use of plastic bags, customary village is expected to play an active role.

Besides, the perarem or appendix

of customary village’s bylaw must also include the reduction of plastic bags,” he said.

For this reason, his agency gave approximately six months to all customary villages to draft the perarem.

So this year, 122 customary villages in Badung are expected to have the same system to regulate the use of plastic bags. “We made a declaration and all put their signatures. A total of 122 chiefs of customary village in Badung convinced themselves through the Mangupura Declaration. This is Badung’s commitment to reducing the use of plastic bags,” he concluded. (kmb23)

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International

Activities

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

STHALA UBUD WELCOMES THE FAMILY OF VIETJET AIR

Sthala, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Ubud Bali, a 5-star hotel managed by Marriott International welcomes the family of Vietjet Air during the inaugural flight from Ho Chi Minh to Bali on Friday, 31 May 2019.

Vietjet Air officially launched its new route from the largest city in Vietnam to one of the world most favorite holiday destinations on 29 May 2019, and landed safely at the Ngurah Rai International Airport carrying 180 passengers at 01.05 pm local time during the airline’s debut flight.

On Friday, 31 May 2019, Vietjet Air VIP group have arrived at Sthala Ubud Bali at 5.30 pm Bali time to stay at the hotel and enjoy the charm of beautiful culture and nature of Ubud. The group’s arrival was welcomed by the Panyembrama dance, Balinese unique welcome dance performed by a group of skillful female dancers accompanied by live music of Balinese gamelan.

This low-cost carrier offers new direct service which operates five return flights every week from Vietnam to Bali and uses the Airbus A320-A320 neo aircraft that can accommodate 180 to 230 passengers.

Deputy of Marketing Development I Ministry of Tourism, Rizky Handayani said, this new route is important to significant growth for Indonesian Tourism. “I really believe this new route will be mutually beneficial. First, it certainly can increase the flow of international visitors from Vietnam to Bali. Also vice versa, international visitors arrive from Indonesia to Ho Chi Minh City,” he said as quoted from Kontan, Thursday (05/30) According to statistics from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, there were 75,632 tourist arrivals from Vietnam in 2018, less than one percent of Vietnam’s total outbound tourists last year. The authorities are targeting to have more arrivals from its Southeast Asian neighbor, bringing it up by at least 32 percent this year to top 100,000 Vietnamese tourists this year.

By the opening of new route to Bali from Ho Chi Minh City, Vice President of Vietjet, Nguyen Thanh Son believes that the new route will not only create opportunities for people to travel by safe, civilized and modern air transportation but also links two cities known as economic and cultural centers of Vietnam and Indonesia. This new route will also reinforce the connectivity to Indonesia, which can lead to the expected increment of visitors from Vietnam.

15

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

16 Pages Number 112 11th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

An early ‘Tintin’ cover sells at auction for $1.1 million

Don Emmert / AFP

Artist Lady Pink, “The first lady of graffiti,” paints a mural at Casita Maria on June 2, 2019 in the Bronx borough in New York.

‘First Lady’ of NY graffiti now a businesswoman

NEW YORK - When she began painting graffiti on New York subway cars at the age of 15, Lady Pink stood out as one of very few women in that illegal and dangerous subculture.

That was in 1979. Now, in her mid-50s, this petite woman with long, dark hair and hailing from the Amazon jungle in Ecuador has been making an above-board living from her art for decades and proudly declares herself a businesswoman. She has been called the “First Lady” of graffiti.

“New York was ruined. There was a lot of crime and corruption, and everything looked terrible. We adolescents set out to beautify the city,” Lady Pink -real name Sandra Fabara -- told AFP in an interview in the Bronx, where she is painting a mural on the wall of Casita Maria, a community center for young Hispanics.

Whereas the teen-aged Fabara had to dodge the authorities as she practiced her craft, she now is being guarded by a policeman while she paints, because an angry neighbor made a death threat against her.

Fabara was featured in a classic film about graffiti, “Wild Style” (1982), and is one of 21 street artists whose work adorned -- before being whitewashed in 2013 -- the outside of a factory-turned-canvas in the Queens borough that was called 5Pointz.

A court ruled last year that the artists should receive $6.75 million in damages for the loss of their work; New York law protects public art of “recognized stature.”

But the owner of the building, who eventually tore it down to build luxury condos, appealed and there is still no final verdict.

“The judicial system has never been very fair with graffiti or street artists. I do not expect it to be now,” said Fabara.

WASHINGTON - An original drawing used for the first published “Tintin” cover was sold at auction on Saturday in Dallas for $1.12 million, the Heritage Auctions house told AFP. The identities of seller and buyer have not been released.

The illustration, by Tintin creator Herge (the pseudonym of Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi), shows the plucky young reporter sitting on a tree stump carving a makeshift propeller for his plane after the original was damaged in a rough landing somewhere in the Soviet Union. His faithful dog Snowy (Milou in the original French) sits and watches, bandaged from tail to nose.

The beloved Tintin books have been translated into more than 70 languages, but in 1929, 22-yearold Herge was still telling the young journalist’s story in the pages of Le Petit Vingtieme (The Little Twentieth), a kids’ supplement to the Belgian daily Le Vingtieme Siecle (The Twentieth Century).

The serialized Tintin stories proved so popular that soon Le Petit Vingtieme published them in 16-page installments instead of the

original eight, and on February 13, 1930, Tintin made the cover.

It was only a few months later that the first book in what was to be a series of two dozen -- “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets” -- was published. More than 200 million Tintin books have now been sold worldwide.

Most of the old Tintin cover illustrations are on display at the Herge museum in the Belgian town of Louvain-la-Neuve, according to a text in the Heritage Auctions catalogue by Philippe Goddin, who has written several books about Tintin and Herge, including a seven-volume chronology.

The drawing sold Saturday, in India ink and gouache, was signed

by Herge. A Heritage Auctions spokesman told AFP the illustration, which turned up in Brussels, was one of the “rare cover illustrations signed by Herge in private hands,” as well as the oldest.

The author and artist -- who often set his Tintin tales in the most exotic of locales -- rarely left Belgium in his lifetime. He died in 1983.

Other Tintin works have also drawn big paydays at auction, with some surpassing $1.5 million. (afp)

- Adventure by Night -

Lady Pink got into this kind of thing when her first boyfriend, a graffiti artist, was arrested.

He was then sent to live with relatives in Puerto Rico, which left Fabara heartbroken. She started painting his name on the walls of her school, and eventually his graffiti buddies took her in and started teaching her technique.

“I would crawl out the window with a bag of paint and go to the roughest neighborhoods of New York in the middle of the night, all alone, to meet up with my friends and go to an even worse neighborhood where they park the trains. We would go into the train tunnels and dark alleys where God knows what awaits you,” Fabara said of the period, from 1979 to 1985.

HO / Heritage Auctions / (C) Herge-Moulinsart 2019 / AFP

You can find International Bali Post at:

This image courtesy of of Heritage Auctions (HA.com) and released June 8, 2019, shows the February 13, 1930, first cover appearance of Tintin, from artist Hergé’s “The Adventures of Tintin Vol. 1: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.”

The cover sold at auction in Dallas, Texas, on June 8, 2019, for $1,125,000.

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

AP Photo/Luis Vieira

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo lifts up the trophy as he celebrates with players after winning the UEFA Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Netherlands at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, June 9, 2019.

Portugal defeat Netherlands to win first Nations League

Portugal added the inaugural Nations League title to their Euro 2016 triumph as Goncalo Guedes’s strike on the hour won an underwhelming final 1-0 against the Netherlands in Porto on Sunday.

The Dutch defensive pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt largely kept Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, but Valencia winger Guedes proved the match winner as his shot had too much power for Jasper Cillessen in the Netherlands goal.

“Thank god things have gone well for the national team in recent years.

Portugal has won important things like Euro 2016 and now the League of Nations,” said Ronaldo.

“It may seem like an easy job but it’s hard, it takes a lot of dedication and willingness. I think the players deserve to be congratulated.”

Portugal had the advantage of an

extra day’s rest and not being forced to extra time against Switzerland in their semi-final as the Dutch were in seeing off England on Thursday.

And the hosts looked the fresher throughout with Ronald Koeman’s men jaded at the end of a long season.

“If we were tired I don’t know, but we were not good enough,” admitted Koeman.

“They defended well and the were very compact in their game, but you have to be better with the ball and we were not.”

The match had been billed as a showdown between Ronaldo and Van Dijk but with the Dutch captain

again rock solid at the back, Portugal’s main threat came from midfield with Bernardo Silva rightfully winning player of the tournament.

“I’m very happy, very proud. It’s my first title with my country,” said Silva, who also won an English domestic treble with Manchester City this season.

“Thank you to the Portuguese people, what a night for us, what a night for the country!” Silva provided the one true moment of quality to decide the game.

He broke through the Dutch defence and then picked out Guedes, who bravely ignored playing in

Ronaldo to drill a low shot past Cillessen himself.

“If you want to win you have to play well, and if Portugal won we had to play well, whether it was handsome or not,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

The Netherlands have made huge strides in just over a year since Koeman took charge after missing out on even qualifying for the last two tournaments.

After overcoming world champions France and Germany in the group stages, Koeman’s men also outclassed England in the semi-finals.

However, unlike in midweek when Frenkie de Jong dominated the midfield against the English, Holland’s latest Barcelona-bound star was unable to seize control of

the game and their lack of a topclass striker left the Dutch toothless up front.

“We’ve made a lot of progress.

We have to be very proud of ourselves; now disappointment is in our heads but we have to keep the heads up,” said Van Dijk.

“It’s been a good season but hopefully next season is going to be even better. That’s the only thing I’m striving for.” (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.