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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

New York sues Weinstein Co., Harvey Weinstein over sexual misconduct

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

Film producer Harvey Weinstein NEW YORK - New York’s attorney general sued the Weinstein Company and Harvey Weinstein on Sunday alleging years of sexual harassment and misconduct by the movie producer, in a move that could jeopardize talks on a potential sale of the studio.

Weinstein, co-founder of the Miramax studio, was one of Hollywood’s most influential men before more than 70 women accused him of sexual misconduct, including rape. He denies having non-consensual sex with anyone, and his lawyer said many of the latest allegations would turn out to be unmerited.

The civil suit alleges that the company’s executives and board repeatedly failed to protect employees from Weinstein, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. The suit also names Weinstein’s brother Bob, who cofounded the company.

The studio has been in talks to sell itself to a group of investors led by former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet, but Schneiderman’s lawsuit has put deal negotiations on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.

Schneiderman said he sued the company on Sunday in part because of reports that a sale of the studio could be imminent.

“Any sale of The Weinstein Company must ensure that victims will be compensated, employees will be protected going forward, and that neither perpetrators nor enablers will be unjustly enriched,” Schneiderman said.

The state is seeking an unspecified amount of restitution and damages, plus penalties, for harm to victims.

The lawsuit alleges that Weinstein, 65, sexually harassed employees and abused women for years. It accuses Weinstein Company executives, including his brother and co-CEO Bob, of failing to act despite repeatedly being presented with credible evidence of Weinstein’s sexual harassment and misconduct.

In a statement, Weinstein’s attorney Ben Brafman said a fair investigation by Schneiderman would prove that many of the allegations against his client were without merit.

“While Mr. Weinstein’s behavior was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality, and at the end of the inquiry it will be clear that Harvey Weinstein promoted more women to key executive positions than any other industry leader and there was zero discrimination at either Miramax or TWC,” Brafman said.

“If the purpose of the inquiry is to encourage reform throughout the film industry, Mr. Weinstein will embrace the investigation. If the purpose however is to scapegoat Mr. Weinstein, he will vigorously defend himself,” Brafman said.

Schneiderman said he used his subpoena power in an attempt to get around Non-Disclosure Agreements that Weinstein and the company signed with employees and others in what the attorney general described as an attempt to shield them from scrutiny. (rtr)

‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Tops Box Office With $38.8 Million, ‘Peter Rabbit’ Hops to $25 Million LOS ANGELES - Universal’s opening of “Fifty Shades Freed” is dominating North American moviegoing this weekend with a solid $38.8 million at 3,678 locations as cinemas await the arrival of “Black Panther.”

Sony’s launch of family comedy “Peter Rabbit” wound up with a better-than-expected $25 million at 3,725 sites. Clint Eastwood’s thriller “The 15:17 to Paris” from Warner Bros. arrived above forecasts at $12.6 million at 3,042 venues for the weekend.

A pair of sturdy holiday season holdovers in their eighth weekends took fourth and fifth as Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” finished with about $9.8 million at 3,126 sites and Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” grossed $6.4 million at 2,373 screens. “Jumanji” declined only 10 percent from the previous weekend and will finish the weekend with $365.7 million in 54 days in 38th place on the all-time domestic grosser list, $3 million behind “Despicable Me 2.” “Showman” slid only 17 percent and has totaled $146.5 million.

The finale of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy -- referred to in marketing materials as “the climax” -- is also launching in 57 international markets this weekend with about $100 million, which brings the franchise total to about $1.09 billion.

The weekend saw a significant increase in moviegoing in the wake of a slow Super Bowl session with $138 million, up 46 percent, according to comScore. Overall business was off 27 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when “The Lego Batman Movie” led with $53 million.

Moviegoing will receive another

IBP/net

“Fifty Shades Freed” is dominating North American moviegoing this weekend. major boost over the Presidents Day weekend with Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” opening Feb. 16 and forecasted to take in as much as $150 million during the Friday-Monday period. Overall year-to-date domestic business as of Sunday is $1.234 billion, down 1.8 percent from 2017.

“This weekend is merely the calm before the proverbial Marvelpowered storm as ‘Black Panther’ is poised to leap into theaters with potentially record-breaking results,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with com-

Score.

“Fifty Shades Freed” sees Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the conclusion of the events set in motion in 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” and 2017’s “Fifty Shades Darker.” Though the “Fifty Shades Freed” launch wound up above forecasts, it was not as strong as its predecessors. “Fifty Shades of Grey” opened with a sensational $85.2 million in 2015, and “Fifty Shades Darker” opened with $46.6 million on the same weekend last year. (rtr)

Russia hunts for body fragments, clues after fatal plane crash Passenger plane crashes near Moscow Russian passenger plane AN-148, operated by Saratov Airlines, crashed near Moscow soon after take-off on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board.

R U SS I A Crash location Origin: Moscow BELARUS

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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

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

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

UKRAINE

Destination: Orsk KAZAKHSTAN

Romania Black Sea Sources: FlightAware; Maps4News; Reuters J. Wang, 12/02/2018

200m

Moscow - Within minutes of taking off from Moscow, a Russian passenger plane crashed into the snow, killing all 71 on board.

Sky News Moscow Correspondent Diana Magnay reports from the scene of the recovery operation, where crews are working in extreme conditions to investigate the disaster.

The crash site’s proximity to Moscow - some 60km (37 miles) by road from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport - at least means relatively fast access for emergency personnel.

Not that this was ever anything other than a recovery operation - not given the speed of the plane’s descent in its final moments, dropping 40 metres per second, according to the flight radar tracker.

But perhaps better here than in a more remote corner of this vast country and an even longer wait

for anguished relatives.

The small lane leading up towards the village of Argunovo has turned into a heavy machinery highway. Snowploughs, tractors and lorries filled with emergency committee personnel queued one behind the other.

Weaving their way through, the odd Mercedes fitted with blue emergency sirens carryied an official to the site, the odd rust-bucket rumbled through the snow - presumably a local trying to get home - and more than a few snowmobiles dragged sledges loaded with gear. We journalists are told to go by foot and there is only so far we can go.

We are kept away from the crash site itself, where the emergency ministry says it has installed

36 flashlight towers so that crews can work through the night.

It is minus four degrees for this most miserable of tasks but at least the snow has stopped.

CCTV footage from a house in the village shows the plane coming down.

A distant fireball flares against a white snowscape - a children’s swing in the foreground making this awful moment all the more surreal. (rtr) 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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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Bali News

International

Activities

International

After alert status of Mt. Agung lowered

Beats & Bikinis at the Courtyard Pool

BANGLI —The decrease in the alert status of Mount Agung from level IV (warning) to level III (watch) by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) on Saturday (Feb. 10) was welcomed happily by the evacuees in Bangli district. Dozens of evacuees from Bonyoh hamlet, Ban, Kubu, Karangasem, occupying the evacuation center in the Kayuambua Learning Activity Center (SKB), Susut, have returned to their hometown on Sunday morning (Feb. 11). Meanwhile, the evacuees occupying the Kindergarten/Elementary School Post, Kubu village, temporarily prefer to stay in the refugee camp.

Post Commander, Andy Pranoto, revealed on Sunday (Feb. 11) that after the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered by the PVMBG on Saturday (Feb. 10) dozens of residents occupying the refuge post at SKB Kayuambua, Susut, already returned home on Sunday morning (Feb. 11). He added that residents that returned home amount to 44 people or 13 families.

“All the evacuees returning home today (Sunday—Ed) are from Bonyoh hamlet, Ban, Kubu. Their goods are carried by private transport. To raise evacuees’ goods, they are assisted by a number of refuge post attendants and TNI personnel. Before the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered, some 163 people already went home on Friday (Feb. 9). So, now there are no more evacuees occupying the SKB post,” he said.

An officer of the Kubu Refugee Command Post, A.A. Gede Rai Sutresna, said that his management has provided information for all refugees if the alert status of Mount Agung has been lowered from warning to watch including the danger radius has also been narrowed from 6 km to 4 km.

Nevertheless, until now his post has not received any reports about evacuees that will return to their respective home. “Evacuees have not yet submitted if they go home. So far, they still survive in this evacuation. We do not know whether later or tomorrow (Monday—Ed) there are evacuees that will return home or not. Let’s wait,” he said Although evacuees have been allowed to go home, Sutresna said his post did not force them to return to their hometown. Admittedly, most refugees still choose to survive in the refuge because they are still anxious with the current conditions. Based on previous experience when they were allowed to go home and after staying at home, the Mount Agung erupted again so they were forced to flee again. Probably, this becomes their consideration to remain at refuge. “Maybe they still think twice whether they go home and remain to wait,” said the man familiarly addressed as Gung Ruwet.

An evacuee from Besakih Kawan hamlet, I Ketut Dadi, revealed that he is still discussing with family and relatives whether to go home or survive at the evacuation. He said that before going home he will check his house and the situation of his village. “Indeed, I have a desire to go home. I will return home tomorrow (Monday). But we will first have discussion with family and relatives. If going home, we will go home together,” he said.

He said that command post officers will not force him and other refugees to immediately return home. He said the officers will fully let the decision to him and other refugees whose residence sits outside the radius of 4 km.

Those who indeed dare to go home will be allowed. “The officers entirely give it to me. If wishing to go home, we will be allowed. However, if we remain to stay at refuge here, it’s okay. In essence, there is no force to go home,” said Dadi.

Another refugee, Mangku Rapi, from Angsoka hamlet, Besakih, said he still survives in the evacuation even though the distance of his house is in the radius of about 5.5 km from the peak. The road access to his house is broken off several months ago due to rain lava, so local residents become isolated. He worried if he goes home under such not-normal volcanic condition and if the eruption re-occurs, no officers will evacuate him and other residents.

“This is what I fear. If anyone can guarantee my safety and other residents, I want to go home. I am still afraid if the previous incident will repeat again. When I returned home, Mount Agung erupted. So, I had to evacuate again. Moreover, the road is broken off and cannot be passed by motorcycles or cars. I do not know whether there will be officers evacuating us in case the Mount Agung erupts again,” asked Mangku Rapi.

Ni Komang Karni from Pura hamlet, Sebudi, acknowledged that her hamlet chief is still discussing with the command post to express their gratitude to the officers that have been accommodating him and other residents for about four months in the evacuation. “I am still waiting for other residents. If they go home, I will also go home. Since we come here together, we must come home together as well. So, now we’re just waiting for the instruction from our hamlet chief,” she said. (kmb41)

Mulia Bali is gearing up for the highly-anticipated debut of Café Mambo, a weekly party featuring beats and bikinis. Premiering on Wednesday, 7th March 2018, it promises to be Bali’s ultimate sunset soiree with a revolving lineup of international DJ’s pumping out the tunes.

Styled after the legendary Café Mambo in Ibiza where people have come to party for more than 20 years, this lifestyle event is all about creating summer holiday magic for in-house guests and visitors alike. Kicking off at 3.00 pm sharp, it will take place each week on Wednesday, by the resort’s iconic Courtyard Pool surrounded by lush tropical gardens and Private Cabana’s for a more intimate pool experience.

Café Mambo at Mulia Bali’s

Dozens of evacuees in SKB return home, in Kubu still survive

Mulia Bali Presents Café Mambo

IBP/file

Tourism is the leading sector of Bali economics but it must developed into a world class destination.

Bali hoped to be world’s qualified destination, not to be sold cheaply

MANGUPURA —After the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered from level IV (warning) to level III (watch), the Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) hoped that tourist arrival in Bali will increase sharply. Moreover, all tourism players in Bali are also expected to unite.

After the number of tourist arrival rises, it should start by talking about quality and price. Bali is expected to be a world-class qualified destination. This was confirmed

by Chairman of Central Executive Board of ASITA, Asnawi Bahar, when met amid the celebration of the 47th anniversary of ASITA on Saturday (Feb. 10) at Bukit Pandawa Golf, Kutuh, South Kuta.

Asnawi said that ASITA will reorganize the business, especially the Chinese market. It is meant that Bali becoming a pride will not be sold cheaply. In addition, ASITA Bali should also play a role, not just become a spectator. “Quality of the packages should be enhanced and Bali should not be sold cheaply.

Good stuff should not be sold cheaply,” he said.

His management will encourage local and central government to be able to crack down on unauthorized travel agencies including many overseas travel agencies that come without license and do not partner with ASITA as a local association.

“This is the main point that should

get the attention. This must be cracked down on so the quality of tourism can be improved,” he said.

ASITA continues to improve the quality of Balinese products. Quantity improvement must also be balanced with quality improvement.

He hoped the spending money of tourists can be greater. “I hope the players will not repress hotels, we want tourists to come with big spending money. However, if given cheap price, they have the network, so this should be addressed,” he concluded.

For future tourism development, continued Asnawi, the association will penetrate for new markets. So far, Indonesian tourism has been supported by Australia, ASEAN and China. New markets such as the Middle East and India will be developed in the future. Recently, both have sharply visited Bali. So, the market penetration to be done is by trying to develop both potential markets.

To support these efforts, said Asnawi, the association encourages governments and airlines company

to fly directly from major cities in India in particular, and to other regions. In addition, it will also be done for the Middle East market.

“Other than India, in fact the tourist arrival from Middle East has also increased quite sharply,” he concluded.

In the meantime, the celebration of the 47th ASITA’s anniversary held in Bali is indeed in order to accelerate the recovery of Bali.

With the decline of the alert status of Mount Agung, the tourist visit to Bali reaches 14,000 people per day.

It means the figure has approached 100 percent because the tourist arrival usually reaches 15,000 people per day.

Currently, many extra flights and charter flights have been coming. Hopefully, this condition is expected to encourage the target of tourist visit of 17 million nationally and 7 million for Bali can be achieved. “Hopefully, Bali can reach 10 million, but they will not only focus in Badung. In addition, such number of tourist visit should be served well,” he hoped. (kmb23)

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premier party will feature the Mambo Brothers. Raised in the clubbing utopia of Ibiza and as the sons of the founders of Café Mambo, they were exposed to some of the best DJs in the world from an early age as they soundtracked this celebrated sunset spot. Having commanded dance floors all around the globe, the Mambo Brothers are set to bring their dynamic DJing skills to Mulia Bali for a unique party experience.

Offering up sensational sounds with a distinct tropical vibe in a luxury resort setting, Café Mambo at Mulia Bali will be the party that has the whole island talking.

For more information, please visit www.themulia.com or call (62 361) 301 7777.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Science

International

Surprising bat genetic trait holds secrets of longevity WASHINGTON - Bats are the longest-lived mammals relative to body size, and a species called the greater mouse-eared bat lives especially long. Researchers now have unlocked some of this bat’s longevity secrets, with hints for fighting the effects of aging in people.

Scientists said on Wednesday that unlike in people and most other animals, in this bat species the structures called telomeres located at the end of chromosomes, thread-like strands inside a cell’s nucleus that carry genes determining heredity, do not shorten with age.

Only 19 mammal species are longer-lived than humans relative to body size. Eighteen of them are bats, some living more than four decades. The other is a weird African rodent called a naked mole rat.

The researchers identified two genes in the greater mouse-eared bat that may be responsible for its unique longevity adaptation.

These mechanisms could be the focus of future studies on aging, with an eye toward extending healthy lifespans in people, the researchers said.

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten each time a cell divides.

This drives the natural aging process, leading to a breakdown of cells that over time can drive tissue deterioration and eventu-

ally death.

“Studying exceptionally longliving mammals that have naturally evolved mechanisms to fight aging is an alternative way to identify the molecular basis of extended ‘health spans,’” said biologist Emma Teeling of University College Dublin in Ireland, one of the study leaders.

“Bats are an exciting new model species that will enable us to identify new molecular mechanisms that drive healthy aging.”

The researchers studied 493 individual bats from four species: the greater mouse-eared bat and Bechstein’s bat, both members of the bat genus called Myotis; the greater horseshoe bat; and the common bent-wing bat. Of these, the greater mouseeared bat had the longest lifespan, about 37 years.

The greater mouse-eared bat and the closely related Bechstein’s bat had telomeres that did not shorten with age, suggesting that Myotis bats share this characteristic. Another Myotis bat, Brandt’s bat, holds the bat longevity record of 41 years.

Based on body size, the greater mouse-eared bat would be predicted to have a maximum lifespan of four years. Its range spans from Western Europe into the Middle East. It preys on large, ground-dwelling creatures like beetles, crickets and spiders. (rtr)

Courtesy Olivier Farcy/Handout via REUTERS

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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To reduce queue in Nusa Dua gate

JBT adds two ticket booths for motorcycle

Doctor David Albertini/University of Edinburgh/Handout via REUTERS

An undated picture shows a magnification of a lab-grown fully matured human egg ready for fertilization.

Scientists grow human eggs to full maturity in a lab

LONDON - Scientists have succeeded for the first time in growing human eggs in a laboratory from the earliest stages in ovarian tissue all the way to full maturity - a scientific step that had previously been taken in mice.

The greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) is shown in this undated handout photo taken in Brittany, France, released on February 7, 2018.

Bali News

International

Publishing their result in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction on Friday, scientists from Britain and the United States said it could one day help in developing regenerative medicine therapies and new infertility treatments.

In previous studies, scientists had developed mouse eggs in a laboratory to the stage where they produced live offspring, and had also matured human eggs from a relatively late stage of development.

This latest work, by scientists at two research hospitals in Edinburgh and the Center for Human Reproduction in New York, is the first time human eggs have been developed outside the human body from their earliest stage to full maturity.

“Being able to fully develop human eggs in the lab could widen the scope of available fertility treatments. We are now working on optimising the conditions that support egg development in this way and studying how healthy they are,” said Evelyn Telfer, who co-led the work.

Independent experts not directly involved in this work praised it as important, but also cautioned that there is much more to do before lab-grown human eggs could be safely be made ready for fertilisation with sperm.

“This early data suggests this may well be feasible in the future,” said Ali Abbara, a senior clinical lecturer in Endocrinology at Imperial College London. “(But) the technology remains

at an early stage, and much more work is needed to make sure that the technique is safe and optimised before we ascertain whether these eggs remain normal during the process, and can be fertilised to form embryos that could lead to healthy babies.”

Darren Griffin, a genetics professor at Kent University in the UK, said the work was “an impressive technical achievement”.

If success and safety rates were improved, he said, it could in future help cancer patients wishing to preserve their fertility while undergoing chemotherapy treatment, improve fertility treatments, and deepen scientific understanding of the biology of the earliest stages of human life. (rtr)

MANGUPURA — Frequent queues of motorcycles in the Nusa Dua gate make the Jasamarga Bali Tol (JBT) add two additional ticket booths for motorcycle so there will be a total of four ticket booths. All this time, there are only two motorcycle ticket booths in Nusa Dua gate.

Meanwhile, the motorcycles crossing the toll road from Nusa Dua direction are quite a lot.

When confirmed, Spokesperson of the Jasamarga Bali Toll, Putu Gandhi Ginatra, said the motorcycles crossing the toll road in the afternoon are mostly in the Nusa Dua gate when compared to other points because the afternoon is the time of going home from workplace. Therefore, the Nusa Dua toll gate is often hit by long queue of motorcycles in the afternoon. “On that account, to reduce the queue from the Nusa Dua direction, we add two more ticket booths for motorcycle, so that traffic jam can be resolved,” he said.

With the addition of 2 ticket booths for motorcycle in Nusa Dua gate, the Bali Mandara Toll as a whole has ten automatic toll gates (GTO) for motorcycles. In Benoa, there are three automatic toll gates for motorcycles, three gates in Ngurah Rai and four gates in Nusa Dua. Meanwhile, the distance of each ticket booth is ascertained to have been calculated and measured so that it will not disturb the road users when making transaction. Motorcycles have a standard distance of 1.25 meters. “We added the ticket booth in Nusa Dua because the space is still possible, so we dismantle the barrier or the mound behind the gate and divide it into four. Thus, the ticket booth will slightly move backwards,” he said.

He told the addition of such ticket booth has been planned prior to the underpass project because he estimated the tendency of traffic congestion on the toll road. “In the morning, the traffic congestion occurs in Benoa gate, but it is not too urgent because there have been three gate plus a multifunctional gate that can be allocated for motorcycle and car. Similarly, the Ngurah Rai gate has indeed a relatively quiet traffic compared to the other two gates,” he explained.

All this time, the vehicle traffic in the Bali Mandara Toll averagely reaches 40,000-44,000 per day, where the gate of Nusa Dua and Benoa are the largest contributor reaching around 40 percent per day from the total vehicles passing through the Bali Mandara Toll. Meanwhile, the Ngurah Rai gate contributes to about 20 percent of the total vehicles. “In terms of traffic percentage, motorcycle is 45 percent and car is 55 percent,” he said.

He did not denied if congestion frequently occurs in Nusa Dua gate.

It is admitted because the traffic entering the Bali Mandara Toll indeed increased after the workmanship of Ngurah Rai underpass project. Vehicle from Nusa Dua direction tends to directly pass through toll road when they wish to go to Denpasar. “At Ngurah Rai point, we also see an increase, but not significant,” he added.

Gandhi disclosed that currently in Nusa Dua has been operated three ticket booths for motorcycle, while another one is scheduled to be finished in March. He also appealed to the people using the Bali Mandara Toll to always ensure if they bring along the electronic money (Unik) and make sure if the balance is enough to pay toll road so as to avoid long queue at toll gate. (kmb23)

JBT adds two ticket booths for motorcycle

IBP/kmb

IBP/ian

Animals cannot be directed as models can, so if you are looking for a particular pose it may take some time and careful observation.

Shooting animals in the zoo requires patience and luck

IF you do not have the courage or time to ‘hunt’ for animals in the wild to get that interesting photo, dreamy photos of animals can also be acquired by going to the zoo. Armed with foresight, persistence and patience, it is possible to get photos with that wild look. Also photographing animals in the zoo can be a doorway for to practice for those wishing to become real wildlife photographers.

Indeed, the zoo can be used as a place to learn about some of the characteristics of different animals. Despite having become tame in the zoo, the natural character of most animals remains intact, especially in zoos that provide a semblance of natural habitat for the animals. Under such conditions, the animals retain their wild habits and provides a great opportunity for getting a great shot of an animal in it’s ‘natural habitat’.

Do not however assume that this task will be easy. It may be easier to get a close shot without having to use a fancy lense, however it may not be so easy to get a good shot through thick glass or when the animals are living in unpleasant conditions. Larger animals that are given space to

roam will require a longer lease as they may not be visible from the edge of their enclosure.

Luck is a factor Animals cannot be directed as models can, so if you are looking for a particular pose it may take some time and careful observation. If for example you wanted to get a shot of Bengal tigers moving in a group, you would have to know when they are most likely to engage in such an activity. Not knowing an animals habits can lead to frustration as your memory card is filed with shots of tigers lazying about.

Not exactly the shot you were looking for.

When photographing animals, luck plays an important role. Being ready to take a shot right as

two animals are mating or fighting is certainly a rare moment for any photographer. One must always be ready to snap a picture as such rare moments are hard to come by.

When photographing animals in the zoo, the use of continue / burst mode is highly recommended because animals tend to move in ways that we cannot predict.

If you use automatic settings, sports scene is recommended so that quick movements can be captured with clarity.

Patience is also an important thing to practice when photographing animals. It can take extraordinary patience to capture a fantastic moment. Sometimes, you may spend a whole day in front of the tiger’s cage and still have to go home empty handed. (ian)

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Bali News

International

Bali–Penida River Agency has difficulties to normalize Lake Buyan

SINGARAJA — The silting of Lake Buyan area at Pancasari village, Sukasada, seems difficult to be handled thoroughly and in a short time. It happens because central government is hampered by adequate budgetary supplies to re-arrange the area. Other than the budget, the normalization is also hampered by the difficulty of building embankment to separate the agricultural land from lake area. Moreover, within the existing embankment there is actually the land owned by residents.

This was revealed by the Head of the Bali-Penida River Agency (BWS), Ketut Jayada, recently when making site inspection to the retaining land at the Titab Dam – Ularan that avalanched some time ago.

Furthermore, Jayada said the normalization of Lake Buyan has actually become a central government program. This program is made in responding to the lake condition that has been experiencing a silting due to sediment of landslides after land conversion around the lake. However, the normalization program with sedimentation dredging cannot be realized in the near future. The budget for handling the lake damage is now prioritized to Lake Batur in Bangli district. Under this condition, the normalization proposed by the district government of Buleleng and Bali provincial government cannot be realized today.

“As we know, the central government has set fund handling based on a priority scale. Currently, Lake Buyan is not included in the priority.

Moreover, the lake water is currently rising, so we cannot do the dredging of sedimentation,” he said.

On the other hand, Jayada said the lake normalization is perma-

nently hampered by budget policy and other crucial problems. Jayada pointed out that to protect the sustainability of the lake requires the making of a more permanent embankment than the current one.

After the embankment is created, the dredging of sediment in the embankment can be carried out optimally. Unfortunately, after tracing the position of the existing embankment, in fact there are residents claiming land ownership in the embankment area. To resolve the land issue, Jayada expected the role of local government to intervene in order to find a way out, so the permanent lake normalization and arrangement can be realized.

“We need to create an embankment. Now, there has been indeed an embankment. We would like to dredge the sedimentation in the embankment area but there is a claim of land ownership from local people, so we cannot do the normalization,” he said.

On the other hand, Jayada said that other than resolving the claim of land ownership from local residents within the embankment area, it is required the role of local government to control the plant conversion around the lake area. It is insepara-

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

13

Seoul seeks communication, lower military tension ahead of possible N.Korea summit

SEOUL - South Korea said on Monday it will try to arrange more reunions for families divided by the Korean War and seek to lower military tensions with North Korea as the first steps towards establishing grounds for a rare summit between the two Koreas.

IBP/kmb38

The normalization of Lake Buyan has actually become a central government program. ble from the lake siltation happening today due to the agricultural crop conversion in the area that easily leads to erosion and then settles on the edge of the lake. In addition, the soil erosion also brings along the remains of plant fertilization, so water hyacinth, weeds and other grasses grow luxuriantly to cover up the surface of the lake itself.

“We expect both district and provincial government can help resolve the land claim issues within

the embankment and the plant conversion around the lake so that it can be controlled more massively,” he explained.

Meanwhile, for regular program of cleaning up water hyacinth and weeds, the BWS has so far operated heavy equipment in Lake Buyan.

This machine can be operated by adjusting the water conditions of the lake itself. This cleanup effort is financed by regular funds having been budgeted by Bali-Penida

River Agency.

To increase water hyacinth, weed and wild grasses cleanup, it awaits the plan of central government to add special heavy equipment.

Therefore, the cleanup of weeds and dredging of sedimentation can be done at once. “Our equipment is still alerted at Lake Buyan because this is a regular maintenance and just waiting for the lake situation to operate again,” he explained. (kmb38)

DLHK gets around flood with a million biopores

MANGUPURA — The floods hitting the Badung district lately will be got around by multiplying the hole of absorption (biopores).

Moreover, the local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) will launch a million biopores program to prevent floods.

Head of the Badung DLHK, Putu Eka Merthawan, said the biopore program is targeted to be realized in 2021. Currently, the biopore made has reached 1,250 units. Meanwhile, in 2018 it will be made as many as 1,250 units in the built lands owned by Badung district.

“The biopore hole just targets public spaces or a kind of park belonging to the district government IBP/kmb of Badung,” said Eka Merthawan The local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) will launch on Sunday (Feb. 12).

He acknowledged that Badung a million biopores program to prevent floods.

has owned a Regent Regulation about Biopore Absorption Hole since 2010. On that account, his agency will require the making of biopore absorption holes. “Thus, in 2018 they are obliged to make a biopore absorption hole,” he explained.

The tourism industry such as hotels, villas, restaurants and other accommodation, he said, is obliged to make biopore that will be targeted in 2019. Meanwhile, in 2020 is targeted for housing.

“In 2019, all hotels, villas, restaurants and other tourist accommodations in Badung must make biopore,” he said.

His agency has made a pilot project in South Kuta housing areas that are prone to flood by making biopore absorption hole. Thus, in 2021 Badung can have realized a million biopore. “This program

will be able to cope with floods and puddles, so that garbage will not be claimed as scapegoat because flood often occurs every rainy season,” he said.

Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) recorded that nominal losses caused by natural disaster since early 2018 is estimated to reach IDR 3,223,000,000. These losses are caused by natural disasters such as floods, landslides and fallen trees happened at totally 62 points.

The most disasters are fallen trees reaching 17 incidents, followed by 10 incidents of flood, landslide (15), fire (9), revetment collapse (5) and house wall collapse (3). Besides, there are also other incidents like shrine collapse, road collapse and road damage respectively at one point. (kmb27)

The statement from the Ministry of Unification came after a highlevel North Korean delegation concluded a three-day visit which included an invitation for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to travel to Pyongyang for talks. “(The visit) shows that North Korea has a strong will to improve inter-Korean relations and that Pyongyang can make unprecedented and bold measures if deemed necessary,” the ministry said.

The visit of the delegation, which included North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong, intrigued many in South Korea, but also met scepticism about the North’s sincerity and willingness to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“Although many Koreans are welcoming North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, there are also significant criticism and concerns both domestically and internationally,” the statement said.

During the visit, Kim Yo Jong had delivered a letter from her brother asking South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang at his earliest convenience. Moon had replied, “Let’s create the environ-

ment for that to be able to happen,” according to the presidential Blue House. Such a meeting, if it came about, would mark the first interKorea summit since 2007.

The two Koreas are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict on the Korean peninsula ended in a ceasefire and not a truce.

The Unification Ministry said steps regarding the improvement of ties would be led by the two Koreas, but also in cooperation with related countries and the support of the international community.

“Under a strong position for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, Korea will faithfully implement the international sanctions on North Korea, while also adhering to the principle of resolution through peaceful means,” the statement said.

“If there is certain progress to set the conditions for denuclearisation, a full-fledged progress in interKorean relations will become possible,” it said, without elaborating.

The United States and South Korea have agreed on terms for further diplomatic engagement with North Korea, first with Seoul and then possibly leading to direct talks with Washington without pre-conditions,

Yonhap via REUTERS

South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea Kim Young Nam as Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, looks on after North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra’s performance in Seoul, South Korea, February 11, 2018.

Vice President Mike Pence said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

Speaking to the Washington Post aboard Air Force Two on his way home from the Winter Olympics in South Korea, Pence said Washing-

ton would keep up its “maximum pressure campaign” against Pyongyang but would be open to possible talks at the same time.

In previous years, North and South Korea have held reunions to bring together family members who

have been separated by the war.

Seoul made a standing offer to North Korea last year regarding another such reunion, details of which have yet to be hammered out between North and South Korea. (rtr)

Pakistani Taliban confirm deputy killed by drone, appoint new one PESHAWAR - The Pakistani Taliban confirmed on Monday that

their deputy leader was killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike last

REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

U.S. service member passes in front of a MQ-9 Reaper drone, one of a squadron that has arrived to step up the fight against the Taliban, at the Kandahar air base, Afghanistan January 23, 2018.

week and said they had appointed a new deputy in his place. A pair of suspected U.S. missile strikes killed the militant leader, Khalid Mehsud, also known by his alias Sajna, on Thursday last week in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan, Pakistani security officials said.

But there were conflicting accounts of the drone attack from Pakistani intelligence officials and militant sources. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to bring down the Pakistani state, told Reuters the drone strike was in the North Waziristan region, on the Pakistani side of the border.

“We confirm that deputy head of the TTP Khalid Mehsud died in a drone strike,” said the spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani.

He said Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed a

commander called Mufti Noor Wali Wali to replace their dead deputy. Wali, like his predecessor, would lead militants in South Waziristan, a rugged mountainous region on the Afghan border which has long been home to Pakistani, Afghan and al Qaedalinked foreign militants.

Militant sources said Wali, known by the nickname Ghar Starga, is a ruthless leader with experience working in Pakistani urban areas including the southern city of Karachi.

He studied in a seminary in Faisalabad city in the heartland province of Punjab and recently wrote a book eulogizing the founder of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a 2009 drone attack.

While U.S. and Afghan forces accuse Pakistan of failing to stop Afghan Taliban militants using safe havens on the Pakistani side of the

border, Pakistani Taliban militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and other attacks on Pakistan’s security forces. The Pakistani military mounted a major offensive against the militants in 2014, forcing many of them to withdrawn into Afghanistan.

The border region is off limits to journalists and verifying information independently is difficult. U.S. drone strikes in the border region have picked up since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, though they are a long way off their peak in 2010.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since Jan. 1 when Trump’s denounced Pakistani “lies and deceit” over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.

Last month, the United States suspended about $2 billion assistance to Pakistan. Pakistan denies sheltering militants. (rtr)

12

International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

BUSINESS Inflation data for big economies may test nervy markets again

DUBLIN - A surprise surge in U.S. wage growth has rocked global stock and bond markets in the past week, and inflation figures from three of the world’s biggest economies could dictate whether investors are in for another rollercoaster ride in the coming week.

Stocks have had their worst week since the height of the euro zone crisis in 2011 after jobs data a week ago posed the question markets are now grappling with: Is long-absent inflation returning to the strengthening world economy? Some hints of what the answer to that is - and what it may mean for the era of low interest rates - could emerge with the latest consumer price snapshots from Britain on Tuesday and Germany and the United States a day later.

German inflation, a barometer for how prices are faring across the euro zone, should be of least concern, assuming the final figures for January match weak provisional data that showed annual consumer price inflation slowing to 1.4 percent.

Although a landmark wage deal and a purse-string loosening coalition agreement will likely add to inflation over time, the current moderate price pressures - even in booming Germany - shows the euro zone outlook is quite different to the United States.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment fell to a near 45year low last week, but the jobless rate in the euro zone is still at almost 9 percent - and the broader slack in the jobs market, including part-time and temporary workers, could be twice as high, economists say.

“Although the labour markets in

some countries such as Germany seem to be running dry, which will be reflected in stronger wage growth, the unemployment rate in the other euro countries is, on average, still very high,” said Commerzbank economist Ralph Solveen.

“In the euro area as a whole, wages are therefore unlikely to rise particularly rapidly. As a consequence, core inflation ought to remain around 1 percent, at least this year, providing the ECB with the arguments to maintain its expansionary stance.”

Spanish Inflation data on Thursday will broaden the picture out to those countries where unemployment is at its highest, while fourthquarter growth data for the bloc as a whole - and individually for the likes of Germany, Italy and the Netherlands - are set to show an ever broadening recovery.

MARKET OVER-REACTION POSSIBLE In Britain, where consumers have been facing price pressures for far longer after the 2016 Brexit vote pushed down the value of the pound, the Bank of England said on Thursday that it sees a growing need to keep a grip on inflation.

That means raising interest rates sooner and by more than it flagged only three months ago, as central

REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo

A woman shops at an H&M store in New York City, U.S. December 23, 2017. banks move towards tightening monetary policy a decade after the financial crisis.

Data on Wednesday will show whether inflation continues to hold steady at 3 percent where it has spent three of the last four months, and if November’s 3.1 percent reading can be considered a post-Brexit peak.

That will leave markets squarely fixed on the U.S. inflation report later that day, alongside retail sales figures also due out for January.

Economists polled by Reuters see core inflation - which excludes the volatile food and energy components - rising by 0.2 percent month-on-month, a touch slower than December when consumer prices recorded their largest increase in 11 months.

That should nevertheless hold the annual rate steady at 1.8 percent, according to the poll, given the tough comparison with a year ago when consumer prices jumped at the fast-

est rate in nearly four years.

“While there is likely to be significant focus on this report, the reality is that the inflation narrative is not poised to gather any real momentum until Q2 when the idiosyncratic effects from last year - wireless price wars, etc. - finally roll off the yearon-year calculation,” RBC Capital Markets’ analysts wrote in a note.

“But the potential for the market to overreact to an inflation scare is non-trivial.” (rtr)

Make money, do good: women and young invest with purpose

LONDON - Investors increasingly want more than good returns - they want to do good, too, with women and millennials most likely to buy products that seek to save the world, according to a Swiss bank.

UBS, a global financial services company, said banks needed to create so-called impact investing products, which further global development goals by supporting sectors such as clean energy, education and healthcare.

“The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals identified a funding gap of over $2 trillion a year for the next 15 years that

will only be filled by large scale business and investment,” James Gifford, head of impact investing at UBS, said at a breakfast briefing with reporters.

The U.N. goals - set in 2015 bind nations to improve lives in all countries by ending poverty and hunger, fighting inequality and conquering climate change. But with many governments short on cash and long on commitments, UBS said other sources of funding were vital to meet the U.N. shortfall.

Philanthropy is one option, private investment another.

The Gates Foundation is one of

the world’s richest philanthropic institutions and has $40 billion - 2 percent of what UBS think is needed to plug the U.N. shortfall.

The foundation puts money into areas such as health, sanitation and agricultural development in developing countries with the goal of creating more healthy, productive lives. As to smaller investors, UBS said women and people born between the years 1982 and 2000 - so-called millennials - were driving the shift into investing with a purpose beyond profit.

The number of global impact investing funds created before 2004

totalled 31 - by 2016 that had risen to 420, according to ImpactBase, a website that lists impact investments. Fund managers are also reporting higher levels of interest about impact investing, according to a 2017 report by the Global Impact Investing Network.

Gifford said millennials were more interested in sustainable living and this ethos informed their money decisions. “Similarly, all the surveys are showing that women have a higher affinity for sustainability in investment and business,” Gifford said. Women hold 30 percent of global private

wealth, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group, a U.S.based management consultancy. It expects women’s wealth to grow 7 percent a year, which Gifford put down to the rise of female entrepreneurs.

UBS says it has responded to the demand for impact investing by giving investors options to address social issues, such as helping military veterans find employment.

That fund tracks the price of U.S. companies actively encouraging the employment of veterans, who suffer more unemployment than civilians, according to the Labor

International

Bali News

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Peed tradition of Sukawati maintains its fashion style

5

Hundreds of residents participated in the mapeed tradition held in a series of pujawali (temple anniversary) at Dalem Gede Temple of Sukawati on Anggara Kliwon Tambir on Tuesday (Dec. 26). Aside from being a sacred activity, the tradition adorning every anniversary of trinity temples of Sukawati village is also held by maintaining Balinese customary fashion with the typical style of Sukawati village.

Hundreds of male and female residents walked in pair and dressed in Balinese makeup and fashion ranging from children, teenagers, housewives coalesced into PKK group to the elderly. They were enthusiastic to walk from Dalem Temple to Beji Cengcengan Temple of Sukawati village bordered with Guwang village.

Sacred value of this tradition lies in the purpose of mepeed namely picking up holy water at Taman Beji Temple. Furthermore, this holy water will be used for ritual in the temple anniversary that lasted for four days until Friday (Dec. 29). “So during the pujawali, the mapeed procession is held every day in the afternoon,” said Chief of Sukawati customary village, I Nyoman Suwantha, on Tuesday.

Like the mepeed procession elsewhere, at Sukawati village it began with rows of lolentakan, umbrella, pasepan and other ritual paraphernalia, while male or female residents in Balinese makeup and fashion were in the middle. In the rear, the participants of the mapeed were accompanied with baleganjur gamelan orchestra.

Different hamlets were involved in the four-day mapeed tradition.

At Sukawati, there is a term known as krama penyatusan. “We have 12 hamlets which coalesced into 4 satusan (group), where on the first day was the turn of Tebuana, then Palak on the second day, Telabah on the third day and Gelumpang on the last day,” he explained.

Chief of customary village, I Nyoman Suwantha, affirmed that mepeed on every temple anniversary must always be held.

In addition to maintaining the tradition, it also serves as cultural preservation.

He also always reminded his residents to maintain the makeup and fashion having become the typical styles of Sukawati. One is them is the use of rear kancut for adult women. “Balinese makeup and fashion style indeed have dynamic nature. In the past, they were dominated by modified style, but now we gradually start to improve,” he explained.

He also involved specifically the association of customary village apparatus spouse to provide coaching for residents that would participate in the mapeed. They were asked to promote Balinese makeup and fashion with the simple style of Sukawati. “So, in terms of cost, it is affordable to all levels of society,” he added. (kmb)

Kintamani Residents Hold Magoak-goakan Games for Nyepi Desa Most villages in Bali have there own unique sacred and non-sacred traditions that are still practiced today, despite the increasingly strong influence of modernizationand globalization. Ancestral cutural heritages are especially well preserved in areas like Kintamani, Bangli.

This region that is famous for its tangerines has a tradional ceremonial games called magoak-goakan that is played once a year for Nyepi.

There is a lot of meaning associated with this traditon.

Magoak-goakan took place on March 3rd this year in Kintamani’s village sqaure where villagers started arriving at around 08:00 in “medium traditional” attire.

Despite having to walk along 0.5 kilometers of highway, parents, children, young and old were all

very enthusiastic.

Armed with a desire to perform devotional works, people even line-up to be ablt to participate in the Goak-goakan game in which everyone is divided into groups 11 people. Each group is made up of all women or all men and each group forms a line by holding onto the person in front of them’s waist.

The groups then start start to sing the goak-goakan song as they walk in a circle in the sqaure.

As soon as the song ends, the end of each line breaks off and start people start chasing each other.

This is when the real fun starts.

Some participants fall down and other are pushed out of the delineated zone. Those who are captured are toppled down while the audience cheers and laughs.

Chief of Kintamani customary village, Nyoman Sukadia, explained that this game has been part of Kintamani’s heritage ever since the village was firtst founded and is meant to cultivate a sense of patience, familiarity and unity amongst the villagers and also serves to divert energy away fom negative things.

READ Barong Enlivens Bukit Sari Sangeh Attraction The day after the magoakgoakan, the villagers go to look for firewood in the nearby forest and for two days after the goakgoakan games, no one is allowed to conduct acitvities related to the earth such as hoeing the land. “This is one of the ways we use to achieve harmony with nature” explained Sukadia. (kmb)

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

W

RLD

International

Netanyahu says Israel undeterred after Syria shoots down F-16

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of an advanced warplane to enemy fire for the first time in 36 years.

Syrian anti-aircraft fire downed the F-16 as it returned from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria early on Saturday. The Iran-backed forces are supporting President Bashar alAssad in Syria’s near seven-year civil war.

Israel then launched a second and more intensive air raid, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defence systems.

However, Israel and Syria have both signalled they are not seeking wider conflict and on Sunday their frontier was calm, though Netanyahu struck a defiant tone on Sunday in remarks to his cabinet broadcast by Israeli media.

“Yesterday we landed hard blows on the forces of Iran and Syria. We made unequivocally clear to everyone that our modus operandi has not changed one bit,” he said.

Iran’s involvement in Syria, including the deployment of Iranbacked forces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has alarmed Israel, which has said it would counter any threat. Israel also has

accused Iran of planning to build precision-guided missile factories in Lebanon.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Israel’s strikes on Saturday had killed at least six people from Syrian government and allied forces. Syrian state media have yet to disclose any casualties or damage.

The downing of the F-16 over northern Israel - as the air force struck back for what it said was an incursion by an Iranian drone launched from Syria - was a rare setback for a country that relies on regional military supremacy.

Security cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio the Iranian drone was modeled on the U.S. RQ-170 drone that was downed in Iran in 2011. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately comment.

The jet’s two-man crew survived with injuries, and Israeli generals insisted they had inflicted much greater damage in Syria - even as Damascus claimed a strategic gain in the decades-old standoff with its old foe to the south. (rtr)

REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Palestinian demonstrators burn an effigy depicting U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest against U.S aid cuts, outside the United Nations’ offices in the southern Gaza Strip February 11, 2018.

Venezuela army clashes with illegal miners, 18 reported dead

Police officers patrol the street in Guasipati, Venezuela February 11, 2018.

REUTERS/William Urdaneta

GUASIPATI - Soldiers clashed with illegal miners in southern Venezuela on the weekend, killing 18 people in a region notorious for violence and gang rivalries, a lawmaker and local media said.

Bolivar state Governor Justo Noguera said a military unit had fought off an attack, but gave no more details. “An investigation is under way,” he told reporters.

Local newspaper Correo del Caroni reported that 17 men and one woman died in the incident on Saturday morning in an area known for gold and diamond mining.

Echoing that number, a local opposition lawmaker, Americo De Grazia?, said relatives had described the victims as having bullets in the head.

“Massacres are the narco-dictatorship’s state policy,” he said, accusing the security forces.

The government did not respond to requests for comment.

Clashes over illegal mines are common in the remote, mineral-rich area near the border of Guyana, with at least 17 people killed in a gang feud there in 2016.

That year, President Nicolas Maduro declared the area a strategic priority, naming it the Mining Arc and declaring war on the hundreds of illegal miners from Venezuela and neighboring Brazil who try to make a living there.

Local media said the army captured guns and explosives during Saturday’s operation. (rtr)

International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

11

Komodo Dragon Park being renovated to receive IMF-WB meetings` participants KUPANG - The Komodo Dragon National Park`s facilities and infrastructure are currently being renovated or improved to receive thousands of participants of the IMF-World Bank (WB) Annual Meetings to be held in Bali in October 2018. “The stairs on Padar Island are being repaired, the pier is being renovated, and more toilets are being built,” Sudiyono, director of the Komodo Dragon National Park, noted during a telephonic conversation, here, Monday.

Sudiyono said he had also attended a coordination meeting to discuss preparations for the planned visits. “We have been informed that the number of participants at the meetings will be between 15 thousand and 17 thousand, and one third or a quarter of them are expected to visit Labuan Bajo,” he remarked.

The visits of the meetings` participants will have a significant impact on the tourism industry in East Nusa Tenggara Province, according to Sudiyono. The number of tourists visiting the park in 2017 had reached 119,599, comprising 75,650 foreign tourists and 43,949 domestic tourists.

In 2016, a total of 107,711 tourists had visited the park.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI), the country`s central bank, has estimated that the 2018 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings would trigger circulation of money reaching up to Rp4 trillion. “This will strongly boost the economy of Bali,” Causa Iman Karana, head of the BI representative office in Bali, noted in Denpasar, Bali, Sunday.

Large amounts of money will be spent to pay for accommodations, transportation, and telecommunication charges as well as for the purchase of food and beverage items, among others things. The Indonesian government has built several infrastructure projects, including an underpass at the intersection near the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to support the implementation of the event. An apron at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has been expanded to provide a larger parking area for aircraft.

During the meetings, activities at the Ngurah Rai Airport are estimated to increase to 35 takeoffs or landings per hour from the current 28, with a daily capacity of up to 300 movements.

A tourism port is also being built at Benoa harbor in Denpasar. (ant)

NU Islamic organization urges halt of violence on religious figures

JAKARTA - Indonesia`s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has called for a halt of violence on religious figures for whatever reasons. “A spate of violent incidents that have happened indicates that there is religious hatred which must be stopped, condemned and shunned,” chairman of NU Executive Board (PBNU) Robikin Emhas said here on Sunday.

He said violent attacks on religious figures have the potential to disrupt unity and in turn security. “In the current political years of 2018 and 2019 let us prove that Indonesia is able to implement transfers of power in a civilized way,” he said. On a separate occasion the chief of NU martial art group Pagar Nusa, M Nabil Haroen, said violence on religious figures must be stopped.

“Before it was an Islamic cleric and now it is a Catholic priest. It is kind of a series of violent incidents. This must be stopped. Not only that the perpetrator must be caught but the incidents must also be halted. Efforts must be taken to prevent irresponsible group from disrupting the situation in Indonesia,” he said.

He called on NU members, boarding school students, inter-religious followers, the police and the army to maintain the situation so that it will remain conducive.

“We must not surrender to violence. There must be concerted efforts to cut it,” he said. Pagar Nusa has instructed its members to close ranks and conduct consolidation with inter-religious followers for cooperation. “We also continued to communicate intensively with the commander of TNI (military) and the Indonesia Police chief to jointly create conducive situation,” he said. He said 2018 and 2019 are political years and consolidation among community elements must be increased. “Do not allow political situation ahead of regional and general elections to turn into turbulence that may be used by irresponsible group,” Nabil said.(ant)

Antara Foto/Andreas Fitri Atmoko/ via REUTERS

Police are seen outside the Lidwina Catholic Church after a knife-wielding attacker wounded four church-goers in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia February 11, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Knife-wielding attacker wounds 4 churchgoers in Indonesia, shot by police

JAKARTA - A knife-wielding attacker wounded four churchgoers in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday before being shot and wounded by police who said they could not immediately confirm whether it was a terrorism-related incident. Police said they were investigating possible motives for the attack by the suspect, believed to be a university student, at a Catholic church service in Yogyakarta, widely known as the cultural centre of Indonesia’s main island of Java.

The condition of the wounded people was not immediately clear. Among them was a German-born priest who had been leading the service and who had lived in Indonesia for decades, according to a fellow priest, Dwi Harsanto. A police officer was also stabbed while trying to detain the suspect.

“We cannot confirm yet if this was a terror-related incident,”

said Yogyakarta police spokesman Yuliyanto, who goes by one name like many Indonesians.

“We can confirm the suspect has been detained and is being treated in hospital.” Yuliyanto added that the unidentified attacker had been shot in the stomach by police.

Indonesia is an officially secular country and has the world’s largest population of Muslims,

as well as sizeable minorities of Christians, Hindus, and those who adhere to traditional faiths.

Communal and religious tensions have been on the rise in recent years as calls by hardline groups for sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented nationally grow louder. Indonesia has also seen a resurgence in homegrown radicalism, inspired in part by the militant Islamic State group.(rtr)

10

Destination

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

Anderson retains snowboard slopestyle gold in challenging wind

PYEONGCHANG - Sochi champion Jamie Anderson of the United States battled challenging cross winds that had delayed the start of the final to win her second successive Olympic gold in the women’s snowboard slopestyle at the Pyeongchang Games on Monday.

Bongkasa Village

MANGUPURA - Have you ever made a visit to Bongkasa Pertiwi tourism village? Rafting lovers or ATV ride adventurers and cycling fans will surely be familiar with this village. Understandably, this beautiful village is chosen as the finish point of rafting adventure taking advantage of the challenging rapids of the Ayung River. Even, more than three rafting companies choose finish point at this village.

Bongkasa Pertiwi village is located in the Abiansemal subdistrict, Badung, which can be reached by car within about 30 minutes from Denpasar. The trip to the village is really fun. On the right and left side of the road, you can still encounter paddy fields and moors remaining to be cultivated traditionally.

Houses of local residents remain to look everlasting as they are made in accordance with Balinese geomancy or better known as the Kosala Kosali.

In addition to having a wide and

hot mix path, the village with cool environment has friendly community. Foreign travelers are happy to make a visit to this village. On that account, after enjoying the rafting adventure they make their time to stroll around the village and visit traditional houses. Even, some travelers decide to stay at the village.

Secretary of Bongkasa Pertiwi village, I Wayan Matyana, said the village began to be known by travelers due to the presence of rafting activities. Many rafting companies chose this village as their finish point. Not only that, many travelers also enjoyed the village beauty by riding ATV and bike. “Several other travelers also have a promenade to enjoy the atmosphere,” he said.

The presence of various adventure facilities, added Matyana, encouraged local housewives to sell various types of beverages ranging from mineral water, young coconut

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ice, coffee, snacks to lunch pack.

The location was also different, such as at finish point and at the bottom of the cliff near riverbank.

“Bongkasa community can interact directly with travelers,” he said.

Such condition also encouraged local communities to realize the Bongkasa village as a tourism village. It was also reinforced by the Decree of Badung Regent establishing a total of 18 tourism villages including the Bongkasa Pertiwi.

“Although having been established as tourism village since 2009, the village has actually developed since 2003, so that it already has supporting institutions,” he said.

Some of them, explained Matyana, were tourism awareness group (Pokdarwis) and freelance tour guides. “We will create a path on the edge of the Ayung River to support the tourism village. It is based on consideration that the beauty of the river lies on the cliff with green trees like being in heaven,”

he said.

As tourism village, added Matyana, the Bongkasa Pertiwi also offer accommodation such as cottage and private house of local community that could be hired by travelers. Even, there were travelers who contracted a piece of

land to establish a private house.

“Honestly, our village does not have special characteristic although there is silversmith receiving orders from the art shop owners in Bali,” he concluded. (kmb)

The start of the final, which included all of the athletes after qualifying was cancelled on Sunday because of poor weather, had been delayed due to the strong winds.

Only five riders made it down the first run without falling in the difficult conditions, which also included hard snow, with Anderson scoring 83.00 points to give her an almost 10-point advantage heading into the second run.

It was enough to hold off Canada’s Laurie Blouin, who took silver with 76.33 on her second run, and Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi, who added bronze to her silver from Sochi four years ago, with 75.38 points.

None of the riders were able to complete two error-free runs. There was a particularly scary moment when Slovakia’s Klaudia Medlova landed flat on her back after missing a grab during her first run but she did complete her second and finished 24th.

Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi, number one in the FIS World Cup rankings, fell twice on her first run before also crashing out on the second run. Iwabuchi, one of the lightest riders on the tour, was just one example of the top riders struggling in the conditions.

Austrian Anna Gasser, who told reporters after the event that the wind conditions made the event “a lottery”, was another favourite who struggled and failed to land either of her runs.

ANDERSON EXPERIENCE Anderson said her experience allowed her to handle the conditions better than

Gold medallist Jamie Anderson of the U.S. holds the U.S. flag during the flower ceremony. some of her younger competitors, who were struggling to reign in some of the jumps that went too big for them to handle in the windy conditions.

“It is about who can deal with their nerves best and deal with the conditions in the moment,” said 27-year-old Anderson after the final.

She agreed with her rivals that the events were hard but also said it was about adjusting to the conditions and putting together a run

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were possible.”

Blouin, who was stretchered off the course in practice on Friday, completed an incredible comeback to clinch the silver medal.

“I caught an edge on the third jump and slammed my face. I then went to hospital to check my neck and I was cleared for practice,” said the Canadian, a big bruise clear underneath her left eye.

“Now I have second place and I don’t believe it. It is a dream come true.” (rtr)

Triumph after tears as Nagasu makes skating history

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suited for the specific situation.

Anderson has spoken in the build-up to the Olympics about the youngest athletes pushing her to go harder and she reiterated that on Monday.

“There is a lot more competition compared to in Sochi. In Sochi I knew I was one of the best,” she said.

“For a lot of years I wasn’t progressing but now we are doing tricks I wasn’t doing before. I didn’t think a lot of those tricks

REUTERS/Issei Kato

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Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. competes.

GANGNEUNG - Four years ago, American figure skater Mirai Nagasu was heartbroken after being left off the U.S. team for the Sochi Olympics in favour of a woman who ranked lower than she had at a key qualifying event.

But on Monday, the woman whose Japanese immigrant parents run a sushi restaurant and mother hand-sewed her costumes, made skating history by becoming the first American woman - and only the third woman overall - to land the fiendishly difficult triple Axel jump at an Olympics.

Skating a stellar routine in the women’s free skate portion of the team competition, Nagasu began with a clean triple Axel and then went on to nail eight other triple jumps, including a triple flip and triple Salchow combination as she helped America claim bronze.

Clearly overjoyed, the 24-yearold Nagasu, who was skating at her second Olympics, pumped her fists and grinned as she skated off the ice.

“I feel really great,” she said after her performance. “Going into it, I was like a train, get on those tracks and get some speed. To nail it the way I did - and even out of the corner of my eye, I could see my team mates standing in excitement.”

The only other women to land the jump in the Olympics were Japanese skaters Midori Ito and Mao Asada, and Nagasu joked that perhaps her ancestry had played a part.

“Maybe it’s the Japanese genetics - but lucky for me I’m American, so I’ll be the first U.S. lady,” she said after her performance.

She was snubbed for Sochi in

2014 despite finishing third in the U.S. nationals as the selectors handed the Olympic berth to Ashley Wagner, who finished fourth.

“Four years ago I was crying with Adam Rippon because we both didn’t make the team,” she said, referring to the men’s singles skater. “So for both of us to be on the team... is super exciting.”

Nagasu was born to Japanese immigrant parents who run a sushi restaurant in California, where she grew up. Her first name means ‘future’ in Japanese and she reportedly speaks a mixture of Japanese and English at home with her parents.

She began skating at the age of five and idolized two-time Olympic medalist and skater Michelle Kwan. As her career took off, she said it was sometimes difficult to keep going on the income from a restaurant. (rtr)

8

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Sp rt Karamoh’s stunning strike spares Inter from unwanted record

Liverpool’s Klopp praises Van Dijk after ‘fantastic’ Southampton return Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has praised defender Virgil van Dijk’s composed display during Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Southampton as the Dutchman returned to St. Mary’s for the first time since his move to Merseyside.

A section of Southampton supporters booed Van Dijk, who joined the Saints in 2015 before completing a big-money move to Liverpool last month, upon his return but the 26-year-old handled the jeers admirably to help Klopp’s side ease to a win.

“He did really well and dealt with the situation fantastically,” Klopp told reporters. “We had a little talk before the game, asking him what he thought ‘No, I’m fine, boss’. “I didn’t want to make him nervous if he isn’t, obviously he wasn’t.

MILAN - Inter Milan avoided setting a club record for their longest winless run in Serie A on Sunday when a stunning strike from teenager Yann Karamoh gave them a 2-1 win over Bologna who finished with nine men. Inter had failed to win their last eight league matches, plus two more in the Coppa Italia, since thumping Chievo 5-0 on Dec. 3 and their previous five outings in Serie A had ended in 1-1 draws.

The win took Inter third although there is a huge 14-point gap between themselves and Juventus above them on 62 points. Napoli lead with 63 points after their 4-1 win over Lazio on Saturday. The video replay system (VAR), being trialled in Serie A and other competitions, was involved in more controversy at Torino where visitors Udinese had a goal controversially disallowed on their way to a 2-0 defeat.

Eder gave Inter a perfect start at San Siro by turning in Marcelo Brozovic’s pass in the second minute but, as so often this year, the hosts shot themselves in the foot. Inter defender Miranda made a hash of a clearance and allowed Rodrigo Palacio to nip in and equalise against his old club in the 25th minute.

Inter missed two excellent chances after halftime and their frustration showed when Brozovic was substituted, jeered off the field and responded by sarcastically applauding the San Siro crowd. But the mood changed completely thanks to 19-year-old Karamoh who played a one-two with Rafinho, slipped past two defenders and fired a 25-metre shot past Mirante in the 63rd minute.

It was the Frenchman’s first goal in Serie A following his move on loan from Caen in August. Bologna defender Ibrahima Mbaye was sent off after being booked twice in four minutes although the visitors still gave Inter a jittery finale and had a penalty appeal turned down after the referee reviewed

the incident using VAR. The referee also used VAR to dismiss Adam Masina for a reckless challenge in stoppage time. Antonin Barak thought he had given Udinese the lead at Torino in the 20th minute but, after taking several minutes to review the incident with the VAR, the referee disallowed the effort for a push

by Maxi Lopez.

Torino took advantage to win with goals from Nicolas N’Koulou a n d Andrea Belotti, the Italy forward ending a two-month drought by running from inside his own half to score a superb solo effort.

Cengiz Under scored twice in AS Roma’s 5-2 win over bottom club Benevento which lifted them to fourth as they overtook neighbours Lazio.

Guilherme stunned the Stadio Olimpico to give Benevento a seventh minute lead before Federico Fazio headed Roma level. Edin Dzeko headed Roma in front from Under’s cross in the 59th minute before the Turk helped himself to two goals, the second a superb curling effort from the edge of the area.

Enrico Brignola pulled one back for Benevento and Gregoire Defrel completed the scoring from a penalty, his first goal for Roma..(rtr)

Yann Karamoh

IBP/net

Conte says he is a ‘disaster’ when convincing Chelsea to sign players

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

REUTERS/David Klein

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes he needs to be more persuasive when asking the club to sign new players, saying that his efforts to convince his board to spend big in the transfer window were “a bit of a disaster”. Conte led Chelsea to the Premier League title last season, but their failure to replicate last season’s form has led to questions about the size and quality of the squad, with the side in fifth on 50 points, 22 behind leaders Manchester City.

The club also either failed to splurge in the recent transfer market or lost out on players they were interested in and while the Italian said he felt he could still get the best out of his squad, there was a need for

fresh blood.

“My task is to try and improve every single player, in every aspect. In terms of their mentality also... for this, I’m very good,” Conte was quoted as saying by British media. “But I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy players. I think in this aspect I can improve a lot.

“I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect. I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good at persuading their clubs to spend money to buy top players.”

Striker Alexis Sanchez and defender Virgil van Dijk were among the players linked to Chelsea in January, but they went to Manchester United and

Liverpool respectively.

Chelsea have since suffered league defeats to Bournemouth and Watford since the transfer window closed, leading to media speculation about Conte’s future. The 48-year-old, however, is confident the reports would not hinder his players’ performances, with Chelsea hosting bottom side West Bromwich Albion later on Monday.

“Honestly I don’t think talk about my future can affect the players,” he added.

“I think my players are getting used to these rumours, to this speculation, but for sure I am very happy with the commitment of my players, the behaviour of my players because they show me every day they want to overcome this situation.”(rtr)

“The crowd is there to make life difficult for the opponent, but it wasn’t too difficult for him from this point of view and I’m happy about that.”

Forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino continued their stellar form for the club, scoring a goal each to help Liverpool move up to third in the table, two points adrift of second-placed Manchester United.

Salah, who joined Liverpool before the start of the season, is the league’s second-highest goalscorer with 22 goals, one behind Tottenham Hotspur ’s Harry Kane and one ahead of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero while Firmino has notched 12 goals.

“I really think Aguero and Kane and a few others are really good players as well, but

our boys are important for us,” the German boss added. “I love them because of their skills, their attitude but their work-rate is outstanding. They profit from our style of play as well. They play in areas where they like to have the ball.

“But, in this strong league, you cannot be third without fantastic players. They are two of them.” Liverpool play Porto in the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday followed by a league fixture against West Ham United on Feb. 24.(rtr)

Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk reacts

Barcelona confident despite lead slipping to seven points BARCELONA - After Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 3-0 in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu in December, it looked like nobody could stop them on their charge to the title. The Catalans are still unbeaten in the league this season but after consecutive draws against Espanyol last weekend and Getafe on Sunday, their stranglehold on the title has slipped.

Atletico Madrid beat Malaga 1-0 on Saturday to cut down Barcelona’s lead and after Ernesto Valverde’s side failed to find the breakthrough in the 0-0 draw against Getafe, only seven points divides the top two. Atletico have the chance to cut that down further when they head to the Nou Camp on March 4, in a game that will likely be decisive

in the title race.

With testing ties against Chelsea in the Champions League last16 to come, as well as the King’s Cup final, Barcelona’s schedule is tricky to manage. Against Getafe they were reduced to pairing new signing Yerry Mina alongside left back Lucas Digne in the centre of defence, although the duo did well to keep the visitors at bay.

However, the message from Barcelona is that they are not panicking. “These are the busy months of the season and we’re obliged to do well in all three competitions,” said captain Andres Iniesta. “There’s wear and tear and you always try to make sure these things like today don’t happen, but at the end of the day they do happen.”

Barcelona have a rare midweek

off before a tricky away fixture on Saturday at in-form Eibar, who rose to seventh in the table after a win at Leganes, while Atletico Madrid face FC Copenhagen away in the Europa League on Thursday and then host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The club’s director of institutional relations, Guillermo Amor, says Barcelona are comfortable with their seven-point cushion.

“Seven points is a good gap and Atletico have to come here to play us. There’s a lot of points to go and we have to be positive,” said Amor. “We did enough to win but we have to recall that Getafe played well too. They played with determination, worked well and created danger on the counter.

For that we have to congratulate Getafe.”(rtr)

9

8

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Sp rt Karamoh’s stunning strike spares Inter from unwanted record

Liverpool’s Klopp praises Van Dijk after ‘fantastic’ Southampton return Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has praised defender Virgil van Dijk’s composed display during Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Southampton as the Dutchman returned to St. Mary’s for the first time since his move to Merseyside.

A section of Southampton supporters booed Van Dijk, who joined the Saints in 2015 before completing a big-money move to Liverpool last month, upon his return but the 26-year-old handled the jeers admirably to help Klopp’s side ease to a win.

“He did really well and dealt with the situation fantastically,” Klopp told reporters. “We had a little talk before the game, asking him what he thought ‘No, I’m fine, boss’. “I didn’t want to make him nervous if he isn’t, obviously he wasn’t.

MILAN - Inter Milan avoided setting a club record for their longest winless run in Serie A on Sunday when a stunning strike from teenager Yann Karamoh gave them a 2-1 win over Bologna who finished with nine men. Inter had failed to win their last eight league matches, plus two more in the Coppa Italia, since thumping Chievo 5-0 on Dec. 3 and their previous five outings in Serie A had ended in 1-1 draws.

The win took Inter third although there is a huge 14-point gap between themselves and Juventus above them on 62 points. Napoli lead with 63 points after their 4-1 win over Lazio on Saturday. The video replay system (VAR), being trialled in Serie A and other competitions, was involved in more controversy at Torino where visitors Udinese had a goal controversially disallowed on their way to a 2-0 defeat.

Eder gave Inter a perfect start at San Siro by turning in Marcelo Brozovic’s pass in the second minute but, as so often this year, the hosts shot themselves in the foot. Inter defender Miranda made a hash of a clearance and allowed Rodrigo Palacio to nip in and equalise against his old club in the 25th minute.

Inter missed two excellent chances after halftime and their frustration showed when Brozovic was substituted, jeered off the field and responded by sarcastically applauding the San Siro crowd. But the mood changed completely thanks to 19-year-old Karamoh who played a one-two with Rafinho, slipped past two defenders and fired a 25-metre shot past Mirante in the 63rd minute.

It was the Frenchman’s first goal in Serie A following his move on loan from Caen in August. Bologna defender Ibrahima Mbaye was sent off after being booked twice in four minutes although the visitors still gave Inter a jittery finale and had a penalty appeal turned down after the referee reviewed

the incident using VAR. The referee also used VAR to dismiss Adam Masina for a reckless challenge in stoppage time. Antonin Barak thought he had given Udinese the lead at Torino in the 20th minute but, after taking several minutes to review the incident with the VAR, the referee disallowed the effort for a push

by Maxi Lopez.

Torino took advantage to win with goals from Nicolas N’Koulou a n d Andrea Belotti, the Italy forward ending a two-month drought by running from inside his own half to score a superb solo effort.

Cengiz Under scored twice in AS Roma’s 5-2 win over bottom club Benevento which lifted them to fourth as they overtook neighbours Lazio.

Guilherme stunned the Stadio Olimpico to give Benevento a seventh minute lead before Federico Fazio headed Roma level. Edin Dzeko headed Roma in front from Under’s cross in the 59th minute before the Turk helped himself to two goals, the second a superb curling effort from the edge of the area.

Enrico Brignola pulled one back for Benevento and Gregoire Defrel completed the scoring from a penalty, his first goal for Roma..(rtr)

Yann Karamoh

IBP/net

Conte says he is a ‘disaster’ when convincing Chelsea to sign players

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

REUTERS/David Klein

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes he needs to be more persuasive when asking the club to sign new players, saying that his efforts to convince his board to spend big in the transfer window were “a bit of a disaster”. Conte led Chelsea to the Premier League title last season, but their failure to replicate last season’s form has led to questions about the size and quality of the squad, with the side in fifth on 50 points, 22 behind leaders Manchester City.

The club also either failed to splurge in the recent transfer market or lost out on players they were interested in and while the Italian said he felt he could still get the best out of his squad, there was a need for

fresh blood.

“My task is to try and improve every single player, in every aspect. In terms of their mentality also... for this, I’m very good,” Conte was quoted as saying by British media. “But I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy players. I think in this aspect I can improve a lot.

“I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect. I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good at persuading their clubs to spend money to buy top players.”

Striker Alexis Sanchez and defender Virgil van Dijk were among the players linked to Chelsea in January, but they went to Manchester United and

Liverpool respectively.

Chelsea have since suffered league defeats to Bournemouth and Watford since the transfer window closed, leading to media speculation about Conte’s future. The 48-year-old, however, is confident the reports would not hinder his players’ performances, with Chelsea hosting bottom side West Bromwich Albion later on Monday.

“Honestly I don’t think talk about my future can affect the players,” he added.

“I think my players are getting used to these rumours, to this speculation, but for sure I am very happy with the commitment of my players, the behaviour of my players because they show me every day they want to overcome this situation.”(rtr)

“The crowd is there to make life difficult for the opponent, but it wasn’t too difficult for him from this point of view and I’m happy about that.”

Forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino continued their stellar form for the club, scoring a goal each to help Liverpool move up to third in the table, two points adrift of second-placed Manchester United.

Salah, who joined Liverpool before the start of the season, is the league’s second-highest goalscorer with 22 goals, one behind Tottenham Hotspur ’s Harry Kane and one ahead of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero while Firmino has notched 12 goals.

“I really think Aguero and Kane and a few others are really good players as well, but

our boys are important for us,” the German boss added. “I love them because of their skills, their attitude but their work-rate is outstanding. They profit from our style of play as well. They play in areas where they like to have the ball.

“But, in this strong league, you cannot be third without fantastic players. They are two of them.” Liverpool play Porto in the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday followed by a league fixture against West Ham United on Feb. 24.(rtr)

Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk reacts

Barcelona confident despite lead slipping to seven points BARCELONA - After Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 3-0 in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu in December, it looked like nobody could stop them on their charge to the title. The Catalans are still unbeaten in the league this season but after consecutive draws against Espanyol last weekend and Getafe on Sunday, their stranglehold on the title has slipped.

Atletico Madrid beat Malaga 1-0 on Saturday to cut down Barcelona’s lead and after Ernesto Valverde’s side failed to find the breakthrough in the 0-0 draw against Getafe, only seven points divides the top two. Atletico have the chance to cut that down further when they head to the Nou Camp on March 4, in a game that will likely be decisive

in the title race.

With testing ties against Chelsea in the Champions League last16 to come, as well as the King’s Cup final, Barcelona’s schedule is tricky to manage. Against Getafe they were reduced to pairing new signing Yerry Mina alongside left back Lucas Digne in the centre of defence, although the duo did well to keep the visitors at bay.

However, the message from Barcelona is that they are not panicking. “These are the busy months of the season and we’re obliged to do well in all three competitions,” said captain Andres Iniesta. “There’s wear and tear and you always try to make sure these things like today don’t happen, but at the end of the day they do happen.”

Barcelona have a rare midweek

off before a tricky away fixture on Saturday at in-form Eibar, who rose to seventh in the table after a win at Leganes, while Atletico Madrid face FC Copenhagen away in the Europa League on Thursday and then host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The club’s director of institutional relations, Guillermo Amor, says Barcelona are comfortable with their seven-point cushion.

“Seven points is a good gap and Atletico have to come here to play us. There’s a lot of points to go and we have to be positive,” said Amor. “We did enough to win but we have to recall that Getafe played well too. They played with determination, worked well and created danger on the counter.

For that we have to congratulate Getafe.”(rtr)

9

10

Destination

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

Anderson retains snowboard slopestyle gold in challenging wind

PYEONGCHANG - Sochi champion Jamie Anderson of the United States battled challenging cross winds that had delayed the start of the final to win her second successive Olympic gold in the women’s snowboard slopestyle at the Pyeongchang Games on Monday.

Bongkasa Village

MANGUPURA - Have you ever made a visit to Bongkasa Pertiwi tourism village? Rafting lovers or ATV ride adventurers and cycling fans will surely be familiar with this village. Understandably, this beautiful village is chosen as the finish point of rafting adventure taking advantage of the challenging rapids of the Ayung River. Even, more than three rafting companies choose finish point at this village.

Bongkasa Pertiwi village is located in the Abiansemal subdistrict, Badung, which can be reached by car within about 30 minutes from Denpasar. The trip to the village is really fun. On the right and left side of the road, you can still encounter paddy fields and moors remaining to be cultivated traditionally.

Houses of local residents remain to look everlasting as they are made in accordance with Balinese geomancy or better known as the Kosala Kosali.

In addition to having a wide and

hot mix path, the village with cool environment has friendly community. Foreign travelers are happy to make a visit to this village. On that account, after enjoying the rafting adventure they make their time to stroll around the village and visit traditional houses. Even, some travelers decide to stay at the village.

Secretary of Bongkasa Pertiwi village, I Wayan Matyana, said the village began to be known by travelers due to the presence of rafting activities. Many rafting companies chose this village as their finish point. Not only that, many travelers also enjoyed the village beauty by riding ATV and bike. “Several other travelers also have a promenade to enjoy the atmosphere,” he said.

The presence of various adventure facilities, added Matyana, encouraged local housewives to sell various types of beverages ranging from mineral water, young coconut

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ice, coffee, snacks to lunch pack.

The location was also different, such as at finish point and at the bottom of the cliff near riverbank.

“Bongkasa community can interact directly with travelers,” he said.

Such condition also encouraged local communities to realize the Bongkasa village as a tourism village. It was also reinforced by the Decree of Badung Regent establishing a total of 18 tourism villages including the Bongkasa Pertiwi.

“Although having been established as tourism village since 2009, the village has actually developed since 2003, so that it already has supporting institutions,” he said.

Some of them, explained Matyana, were tourism awareness group (Pokdarwis) and freelance tour guides. “We will create a path on the edge of the Ayung River to support the tourism village. It is based on consideration that the beauty of the river lies on the cliff with green trees like being in heaven,”

he said.

As tourism village, added Matyana, the Bongkasa Pertiwi also offer accommodation such as cottage and private house of local community that could be hired by travelers. Even, there were travelers who contracted a piece of

land to establish a private house.

“Honestly, our village does not have special characteristic although there is silversmith receiving orders from the art shop owners in Bali,” he concluded. (kmb)

The start of the final, which included all of the athletes after qualifying was cancelled on Sunday because of poor weather, had been delayed due to the strong winds.

Only five riders made it down the first run without falling in the difficult conditions, which also included hard snow, with Anderson scoring 83.00 points to give her an almost 10-point advantage heading into the second run.

It was enough to hold off Canada’s Laurie Blouin, who took silver with 76.33 on her second run, and Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi, who added bronze to her silver from Sochi four years ago, with 75.38 points.

None of the riders were able to complete two error-free runs. There was a particularly scary moment when Slovakia’s Klaudia Medlova landed flat on her back after missing a grab during her first run but she did complete her second and finished 24th.

Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi, number one in the FIS World Cup rankings, fell twice on her first run before also crashing out on the second run. Iwabuchi, one of the lightest riders on the tour, was just one example of the top riders struggling in the conditions.

Austrian Anna Gasser, who told reporters after the event that the wind conditions made the event “a lottery”, was another favourite who struggled and failed to land either of her runs.

ANDERSON EXPERIENCE Anderson said her experience allowed her to handle the conditions better than

Gold medallist Jamie Anderson of the U.S. holds the U.S. flag during the flower ceremony. some of her younger competitors, who were struggling to reign in some of the jumps that went too big for them to handle in the windy conditions.

“It is about who can deal with their nerves best and deal with the conditions in the moment,” said 27-year-old Anderson after the final.

She agreed with her rivals that the events were hard but also said it was about adjusting to the conditions and putting together a run

B.BP.004.01.18.0001194

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were possible.”

Blouin, who was stretchered off the course in practice on Friday, completed an incredible comeback to clinch the silver medal.

“I caught an edge on the third jump and slammed my face. I then went to hospital to check my neck and I was cleared for practice,” said the Canadian, a big bruise clear underneath her left eye.

“Now I have second place and I don’t believe it. It is a dream come true.” (rtr)

Triumph after tears as Nagasu makes skating history

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suited for the specific situation.

Anderson has spoken in the build-up to the Olympics about the youngest athletes pushing her to go harder and she reiterated that on Monday.

“There is a lot more competition compared to in Sochi. In Sochi I knew I was one of the best,” she said.

“For a lot of years I wasn’t progressing but now we are doing tricks I wasn’t doing before. I didn’t think a lot of those tricks

REUTERS/Issei Kato

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REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. competes.

GANGNEUNG - Four years ago, American figure skater Mirai Nagasu was heartbroken after being left off the U.S. team for the Sochi Olympics in favour of a woman who ranked lower than she had at a key qualifying event.

But on Monday, the woman whose Japanese immigrant parents run a sushi restaurant and mother hand-sewed her costumes, made skating history by becoming the first American woman - and only the third woman overall - to land the fiendishly difficult triple Axel jump at an Olympics.

Skating a stellar routine in the women’s free skate portion of the team competition, Nagasu began with a clean triple Axel and then went on to nail eight other triple jumps, including a triple flip and triple Salchow combination as she helped America claim bronze.

Clearly overjoyed, the 24-yearold Nagasu, who was skating at her second Olympics, pumped her fists and grinned as she skated off the ice.

“I feel really great,” she said after her performance. “Going into it, I was like a train, get on those tracks and get some speed. To nail it the way I did - and even out of the corner of my eye, I could see my team mates standing in excitement.”

The only other women to land the jump in the Olympics were Japanese skaters Midori Ito and Mao Asada, and Nagasu joked that perhaps her ancestry had played a part.

“Maybe it’s the Japanese genetics - but lucky for me I’m American, so I’ll be the first U.S. lady,” she said after her performance.

She was snubbed for Sochi in

2014 despite finishing third in the U.S. nationals as the selectors handed the Olympic berth to Ashley Wagner, who finished fourth.

“Four years ago I was crying with Adam Rippon because we both didn’t make the team,” she said, referring to the men’s singles skater. “So for both of us to be on the team... is super exciting.”

Nagasu was born to Japanese immigrant parents who run a sushi restaurant in California, where she grew up. Her first name means ‘future’ in Japanese and she reportedly speaks a mixture of Japanese and English at home with her parents.

She began skating at the age of five and idolized two-time Olympic medalist and skater Michelle Kwan. As her career took off, she said it was sometimes difficult to keep going on the income from a restaurant. (rtr)

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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International

Netanyahu says Israel undeterred after Syria shoots down F-16

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of an advanced warplane to enemy fire for the first time in 36 years.

Syrian anti-aircraft fire downed the F-16 as it returned from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria early on Saturday. The Iran-backed forces are supporting President Bashar alAssad in Syria’s near seven-year civil war.

Israel then launched a second and more intensive air raid, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defence systems.

However, Israel and Syria have both signalled they are not seeking wider conflict and on Sunday their frontier was calm, though Netanyahu struck a defiant tone on Sunday in remarks to his cabinet broadcast by Israeli media.

“Yesterday we landed hard blows on the forces of Iran and Syria. We made unequivocally clear to everyone that our modus operandi has not changed one bit,” he said.

Iran’s involvement in Syria, including the deployment of Iranbacked forces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has alarmed Israel, which has said it would counter any threat. Israel also has

accused Iran of planning to build precision-guided missile factories in Lebanon.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Israel’s strikes on Saturday had killed at least six people from Syrian government and allied forces. Syrian state media have yet to disclose any casualties or damage.

The downing of the F-16 over northern Israel - as the air force struck back for what it said was an incursion by an Iranian drone launched from Syria - was a rare setback for a country that relies on regional military supremacy.

Security cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio the Iranian drone was modeled on the U.S. RQ-170 drone that was downed in Iran in 2011. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately comment.

The jet’s two-man crew survived with injuries, and Israeli generals insisted they had inflicted much greater damage in Syria - even as Damascus claimed a strategic gain in the decades-old standoff with its old foe to the south. (rtr)

REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Palestinian demonstrators burn an effigy depicting U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest against U.S aid cuts, outside the United Nations’ offices in the southern Gaza Strip February 11, 2018.

Venezuela army clashes with illegal miners, 18 reported dead

Police officers patrol the street in Guasipati, Venezuela February 11, 2018.

REUTERS/William Urdaneta

GUASIPATI - Soldiers clashed with illegal miners in southern Venezuela on the weekend, killing 18 people in a region notorious for violence and gang rivalries, a lawmaker and local media said.

Bolivar state Governor Justo Noguera said a military unit had fought off an attack, but gave no more details. “An investigation is under way,” he told reporters.

Local newspaper Correo del Caroni reported that 17 men and one woman died in the incident on Saturday morning in an area known for gold and diamond mining.

Echoing that number, a local opposition lawmaker, Americo De Grazia?, said relatives had described the victims as having bullets in the head.

“Massacres are the narco-dictatorship’s state policy,” he said, accusing the security forces.

The government did not respond to requests for comment.

Clashes over illegal mines are common in the remote, mineral-rich area near the border of Guyana, with at least 17 people killed in a gang feud there in 2016.

That year, President Nicolas Maduro declared the area a strategic priority, naming it the Mining Arc and declaring war on the hundreds of illegal miners from Venezuela and neighboring Brazil who try to make a living there.

Local media said the army captured guns and explosives during Saturday’s operation. (rtr)

International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

11

Komodo Dragon Park being renovated to receive IMF-WB meetings` participants KUPANG - The Komodo Dragon National Park`s facilities and infrastructure are currently being renovated or improved to receive thousands of participants of the IMF-World Bank (WB) Annual Meetings to be held in Bali in October 2018. “The stairs on Padar Island are being repaired, the pier is being renovated, and more toilets are being built,” Sudiyono, director of the Komodo Dragon National Park, noted during a telephonic conversation, here, Monday.

Sudiyono said he had also attended a coordination meeting to discuss preparations for the planned visits. “We have been informed that the number of participants at the meetings will be between 15 thousand and 17 thousand, and one third or a quarter of them are expected to visit Labuan Bajo,” he remarked.

The visits of the meetings` participants will have a significant impact on the tourism industry in East Nusa Tenggara Province, according to Sudiyono. The number of tourists visiting the park in 2017 had reached 119,599, comprising 75,650 foreign tourists and 43,949 domestic tourists.

In 2016, a total of 107,711 tourists had visited the park.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI), the country`s central bank, has estimated that the 2018 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings would trigger circulation of money reaching up to Rp4 trillion. “This will strongly boost the economy of Bali,” Causa Iman Karana, head of the BI representative office in Bali, noted in Denpasar, Bali, Sunday.

Large amounts of money will be spent to pay for accommodations, transportation, and telecommunication charges as well as for the purchase of food and beverage items, among others things. The Indonesian government has built several infrastructure projects, including an underpass at the intersection near the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to support the implementation of the event. An apron at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has been expanded to provide a larger parking area for aircraft.

During the meetings, activities at the Ngurah Rai Airport are estimated to increase to 35 takeoffs or landings per hour from the current 28, with a daily capacity of up to 300 movements.

A tourism port is also being built at Benoa harbor in Denpasar. (ant)

NU Islamic organization urges halt of violence on religious figures

JAKARTA - Indonesia`s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has called for a halt of violence on religious figures for whatever reasons. “A spate of violent incidents that have happened indicates that there is religious hatred which must be stopped, condemned and shunned,” chairman of NU Executive Board (PBNU) Robikin Emhas said here on Sunday.

He said violent attacks on religious figures have the potential to disrupt unity and in turn security. “In the current political years of 2018 and 2019 let us prove that Indonesia is able to implement transfers of power in a civilized way,” he said. On a separate occasion the chief of NU martial art group Pagar Nusa, M Nabil Haroen, said violence on religious figures must be stopped.

“Before it was an Islamic cleric and now it is a Catholic priest. It is kind of a series of violent incidents. This must be stopped. Not only that the perpetrator must be caught but the incidents must also be halted. Efforts must be taken to prevent irresponsible group from disrupting the situation in Indonesia,” he said.

He called on NU members, boarding school students, inter-religious followers, the police and the army to maintain the situation so that it will remain conducive.

“We must not surrender to violence. There must be concerted efforts to cut it,” he said. Pagar Nusa has instructed its members to close ranks and conduct consolidation with inter-religious followers for cooperation. “We also continued to communicate intensively with the commander of TNI (military) and the Indonesia Police chief to jointly create conducive situation,” he said. He said 2018 and 2019 are political years and consolidation among community elements must be increased. “Do not allow political situation ahead of regional and general elections to turn into turbulence that may be used by irresponsible group,” Nabil said.(ant)

Antara Foto/Andreas Fitri Atmoko/ via REUTERS

Police are seen outside the Lidwina Catholic Church after a knife-wielding attacker wounded four church-goers in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia February 11, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Knife-wielding attacker wounds 4 churchgoers in Indonesia, shot by police

JAKARTA - A knife-wielding attacker wounded four churchgoers in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday before being shot and wounded by police who said they could not immediately confirm whether it was a terrorism-related incident. Police said they were investigating possible motives for the attack by the suspect, believed to be a university student, at a Catholic church service in Yogyakarta, widely known as the cultural centre of Indonesia’s main island of Java.

The condition of the wounded people was not immediately clear. Among them was a German-born priest who had been leading the service and who had lived in Indonesia for decades, according to a fellow priest, Dwi Harsanto. A police officer was also stabbed while trying to detain the suspect.

“We cannot confirm yet if this was a terror-related incident,”

said Yogyakarta police spokesman Yuliyanto, who goes by one name like many Indonesians.

“We can confirm the suspect has been detained and is being treated in hospital.” Yuliyanto added that the unidentified attacker had been shot in the stomach by police.

Indonesia is an officially secular country and has the world’s largest population of Muslims,

as well as sizeable minorities of Christians, Hindus, and those who adhere to traditional faiths.

Communal and religious tensions have been on the rise in recent years as calls by hardline groups for sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented nationally grow louder. Indonesia has also seen a resurgence in homegrown radicalism, inspired in part by the militant Islamic State group.(rtr)

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International

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

BUSINESS Inflation data for big economies may test nervy markets again

DUBLIN - A surprise surge in U.S. wage growth has rocked global stock and bond markets in the past week, and inflation figures from three of the world’s biggest economies could dictate whether investors are in for another rollercoaster ride in the coming week.

Stocks have had their worst week since the height of the euro zone crisis in 2011 after jobs data a week ago posed the question markets are now grappling with: Is long-absent inflation returning to the strengthening world economy? Some hints of what the answer to that is - and what it may mean for the era of low interest rates - could emerge with the latest consumer price snapshots from Britain on Tuesday and Germany and the United States a day later.

German inflation, a barometer for how prices are faring across the euro zone, should be of least concern, assuming the final figures for January match weak provisional data that showed annual consumer price inflation slowing to 1.4 percent.

Although a landmark wage deal and a purse-string loosening coalition agreement will likely add to inflation over time, the current moderate price pressures - even in booming Germany - shows the euro zone outlook is quite different to the United States.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment fell to a near 45year low last week, but the jobless rate in the euro zone is still at almost 9 percent - and the broader slack in the jobs market, including part-time and temporary workers, could be twice as high, economists say.

“Although the labour markets in

some countries such as Germany seem to be running dry, which will be reflected in stronger wage growth, the unemployment rate in the other euro countries is, on average, still very high,” said Commerzbank economist Ralph Solveen.

“In the euro area as a whole, wages are therefore unlikely to rise particularly rapidly. As a consequence, core inflation ought to remain around 1 percent, at least this year, providing the ECB with the arguments to maintain its expansionary stance.”

Spanish Inflation data on Thursday will broaden the picture out to those countries where unemployment is at its highest, while fourthquarter growth data for the bloc as a whole - and individually for the likes of Germany, Italy and the Netherlands - are set to show an ever broadening recovery.

MARKET OVER-REACTION POSSIBLE In Britain, where consumers have been facing price pressures for far longer after the 2016 Brexit vote pushed down the value of the pound, the Bank of England said on Thursday that it sees a growing need to keep a grip on inflation.

That means raising interest rates sooner and by more than it flagged only three months ago, as central

REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo

A woman shops at an H&M store in New York City, U.S. December 23, 2017. banks move towards tightening monetary policy a decade after the financial crisis.

Data on Wednesday will show whether inflation continues to hold steady at 3 percent where it has spent three of the last four months, and if November’s 3.1 percent reading can be considered a post-Brexit peak.

That will leave markets squarely fixed on the U.S. inflation report later that day, alongside retail sales figures also due out for January.

Economists polled by Reuters see core inflation - which excludes the volatile food and energy components - rising by 0.2 percent month-on-month, a touch slower than December when consumer prices recorded their largest increase in 11 months.

That should nevertheless hold the annual rate steady at 1.8 percent, according to the poll, given the tough comparison with a year ago when consumer prices jumped at the fast-

est rate in nearly four years.

“While there is likely to be significant focus on this report, the reality is that the inflation narrative is not poised to gather any real momentum until Q2 when the idiosyncratic effects from last year - wireless price wars, etc. - finally roll off the yearon-year calculation,” RBC Capital Markets’ analysts wrote in a note.

“But the potential for the market to overreact to an inflation scare is non-trivial.” (rtr)

Make money, do good: women and young invest with purpose

LONDON - Investors increasingly want more than good returns - they want to do good, too, with women and millennials most likely to buy products that seek to save the world, according to a Swiss bank.

UBS, a global financial services company, said banks needed to create so-called impact investing products, which further global development goals by supporting sectors such as clean energy, education and healthcare.

“The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals identified a funding gap of over $2 trillion a year for the next 15 years that

will only be filled by large scale business and investment,” James Gifford, head of impact investing at UBS, said at a breakfast briefing with reporters.

The U.N. goals - set in 2015 bind nations to improve lives in all countries by ending poverty and hunger, fighting inequality and conquering climate change. But with many governments short on cash and long on commitments, UBS said other sources of funding were vital to meet the U.N. shortfall.

Philanthropy is one option, private investment another.

The Gates Foundation is one of

the world’s richest philanthropic institutions and has $40 billion - 2 percent of what UBS think is needed to plug the U.N. shortfall.

The foundation puts money into areas such as health, sanitation and agricultural development in developing countries with the goal of creating more healthy, productive lives. As to smaller investors, UBS said women and people born between the years 1982 and 2000 - so-called millennials - were driving the shift into investing with a purpose beyond profit.

The number of global impact investing funds created before 2004

totalled 31 - by 2016 that had risen to 420, according to ImpactBase, a website that lists impact investments. Fund managers are also reporting higher levels of interest about impact investing, according to a 2017 report by the Global Impact Investing Network.

Gifford said millennials were more interested in sustainable living and this ethos informed their money decisions. “Similarly, all the surveys are showing that women have a higher affinity for sustainability in investment and business,” Gifford said. Women hold 30 percent of global private

wealth, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group, a U.S.based management consultancy. It expects women’s wealth to grow 7 percent a year, which Gifford put down to the rise of female entrepreneurs.

UBS says it has responded to the demand for impact investing by giving investors options to address social issues, such as helping military veterans find employment.

That fund tracks the price of U.S. companies actively encouraging the employment of veterans, who suffer more unemployment than civilians, according to the Labor

International

Bali News

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Peed tradition of Sukawati maintains its fashion style

5

Hundreds of residents participated in the mapeed tradition held in a series of pujawali (temple anniversary) at Dalem Gede Temple of Sukawati on Anggara Kliwon Tambir on Tuesday (Dec. 26). Aside from being a sacred activity, the tradition adorning every anniversary of trinity temples of Sukawati village is also held by maintaining Balinese customary fashion with the typical style of Sukawati village.

Hundreds of male and female residents walked in pair and dressed in Balinese makeup and fashion ranging from children, teenagers, housewives coalesced into PKK group to the elderly. They were enthusiastic to walk from Dalem Temple to Beji Cengcengan Temple of Sukawati village bordered with Guwang village.

Sacred value of this tradition lies in the purpose of mepeed namely picking up holy water at Taman Beji Temple. Furthermore, this holy water will be used for ritual in the temple anniversary that lasted for four days until Friday (Dec. 29). “So during the pujawali, the mapeed procession is held every day in the afternoon,” said Chief of Sukawati customary village, I Nyoman Suwantha, on Tuesday.

Like the mepeed procession elsewhere, at Sukawati village it began with rows of lolentakan, umbrella, pasepan and other ritual paraphernalia, while male or female residents in Balinese makeup and fashion were in the middle. In the rear, the participants of the mapeed were accompanied with baleganjur gamelan orchestra.

Different hamlets were involved in the four-day mapeed tradition.

At Sukawati, there is a term known as krama penyatusan. “We have 12 hamlets which coalesced into 4 satusan (group), where on the first day was the turn of Tebuana, then Palak on the second day, Telabah on the third day and Gelumpang on the last day,” he explained.

Chief of customary village, I Nyoman Suwantha, affirmed that mepeed on every temple anniversary must always be held.

In addition to maintaining the tradition, it also serves as cultural preservation.

He also always reminded his residents to maintain the makeup and fashion having become the typical styles of Sukawati. One is them is the use of rear kancut for adult women. “Balinese makeup and fashion style indeed have dynamic nature. In the past, they were dominated by modified style, but now we gradually start to improve,” he explained.

He also involved specifically the association of customary village apparatus spouse to provide coaching for residents that would participate in the mapeed. They were asked to promote Balinese makeup and fashion with the simple style of Sukawati. “So, in terms of cost, it is affordable to all levels of society,” he added. (kmb)

Kintamani Residents Hold Magoak-goakan Games for Nyepi Desa Most villages in Bali have there own unique sacred and non-sacred traditions that are still practiced today, despite the increasingly strong influence of modernizationand globalization. Ancestral cutural heritages are especially well preserved in areas like Kintamani, Bangli.

This region that is famous for its tangerines has a tradional ceremonial games called magoak-goakan that is played once a year for Nyepi.

There is a lot of meaning associated with this traditon.

Magoak-goakan took place on March 3rd this year in Kintamani’s village sqaure where villagers started arriving at around 08:00 in “medium traditional” attire.

Despite having to walk along 0.5 kilometers of highway, parents, children, young and old were all

very enthusiastic.

Armed with a desire to perform devotional works, people even line-up to be ablt to participate in the Goak-goakan game in which everyone is divided into groups 11 people. Each group is made up of all women or all men and each group forms a line by holding onto the person in front of them’s waist.

The groups then start start to sing the goak-goakan song as they walk in a circle in the sqaure.

As soon as the song ends, the end of each line breaks off and start people start chasing each other.

This is when the real fun starts.

Some participants fall down and other are pushed out of the delineated zone. Those who are captured are toppled down while the audience cheers and laughs.

Chief of Kintamani customary village, Nyoman Sukadia, explained that this game has been part of Kintamani’s heritage ever since the village was firtst founded and is meant to cultivate a sense of patience, familiarity and unity amongst the villagers and also serves to divert energy away fom negative things.

READ Barong Enlivens Bukit Sari Sangeh Attraction The day after the magoakgoakan, the villagers go to look for firewood in the nearby forest and for two days after the goakgoakan games, no one is allowed to conduct acitvities related to the earth such as hoeing the land. “This is one of the ways we use to achieve harmony with nature” explained Sukadia. (kmb)

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Bali News

International

Bali–Penida River Agency has difficulties to normalize Lake Buyan

SINGARAJA — The silting of Lake Buyan area at Pancasari village, Sukasada, seems difficult to be handled thoroughly and in a short time. It happens because central government is hampered by adequate budgetary supplies to re-arrange the area. Other than the budget, the normalization is also hampered by the difficulty of building embankment to separate the agricultural land from lake area. Moreover, within the existing embankment there is actually the land owned by residents.

This was revealed by the Head of the Bali-Penida River Agency (BWS), Ketut Jayada, recently when making site inspection to the retaining land at the Titab Dam – Ularan that avalanched some time ago.

Furthermore, Jayada said the normalization of Lake Buyan has actually become a central government program. This program is made in responding to the lake condition that has been experiencing a silting due to sediment of landslides after land conversion around the lake. However, the normalization program with sedimentation dredging cannot be realized in the near future. The budget for handling the lake damage is now prioritized to Lake Batur in Bangli district. Under this condition, the normalization proposed by the district government of Buleleng and Bali provincial government cannot be realized today.

“As we know, the central government has set fund handling based on a priority scale. Currently, Lake Buyan is not included in the priority.

Moreover, the lake water is currently rising, so we cannot do the dredging of sedimentation,” he said.

On the other hand, Jayada said the lake normalization is perma-

nently hampered by budget policy and other crucial problems. Jayada pointed out that to protect the sustainability of the lake requires the making of a more permanent embankment than the current one.

After the embankment is created, the dredging of sediment in the embankment can be carried out optimally. Unfortunately, after tracing the position of the existing embankment, in fact there are residents claiming land ownership in the embankment area. To resolve the land issue, Jayada expected the role of local government to intervene in order to find a way out, so the permanent lake normalization and arrangement can be realized.

“We need to create an embankment. Now, there has been indeed an embankment. We would like to dredge the sedimentation in the embankment area but there is a claim of land ownership from local people, so we cannot do the normalization,” he said.

On the other hand, Jayada said that other than resolving the claim of land ownership from local residents within the embankment area, it is required the role of local government to control the plant conversion around the lake area. It is insepara-

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

International

13

Seoul seeks communication, lower military tension ahead of possible N.Korea summit

SEOUL - South Korea said on Monday it will try to arrange more reunions for families divided by the Korean War and seek to lower military tensions with North Korea as the first steps towards establishing grounds for a rare summit between the two Koreas.

IBP/kmb38

The normalization of Lake Buyan has actually become a central government program. ble from the lake siltation happening today due to the agricultural crop conversion in the area that easily leads to erosion and then settles on the edge of the lake. In addition, the soil erosion also brings along the remains of plant fertilization, so water hyacinth, weeds and other grasses grow luxuriantly to cover up the surface of the lake itself.

“We expect both district and provincial government can help resolve the land claim issues within

the embankment and the plant conversion around the lake so that it can be controlled more massively,” he explained.

Meanwhile, for regular program of cleaning up water hyacinth and weeds, the BWS has so far operated heavy equipment in Lake Buyan.

This machine can be operated by adjusting the water conditions of the lake itself. This cleanup effort is financed by regular funds having been budgeted by Bali-Penida

River Agency.

To increase water hyacinth, weed and wild grasses cleanup, it awaits the plan of central government to add special heavy equipment.

Therefore, the cleanup of weeds and dredging of sedimentation can be done at once. “Our equipment is still alerted at Lake Buyan because this is a regular maintenance and just waiting for the lake situation to operate again,” he explained. (kmb38)

DLHK gets around flood with a million biopores

MANGUPURA — The floods hitting the Badung district lately will be got around by multiplying the hole of absorption (biopores).

Moreover, the local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) will launch a million biopores program to prevent floods.

Head of the Badung DLHK, Putu Eka Merthawan, said the biopore program is targeted to be realized in 2021. Currently, the biopore made has reached 1,250 units. Meanwhile, in 2018 it will be made as many as 1,250 units in the built lands owned by Badung district.

“The biopore hole just targets public spaces or a kind of park belonging to the district government IBP/kmb of Badung,” said Eka Merthawan The local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) will launch on Sunday (Feb. 12).

He acknowledged that Badung a million biopores program to prevent floods.

has owned a Regent Regulation about Biopore Absorption Hole since 2010. On that account, his agency will require the making of biopore absorption holes. “Thus, in 2018 they are obliged to make a biopore absorption hole,” he explained.

The tourism industry such as hotels, villas, restaurants and other accommodation, he said, is obliged to make biopore that will be targeted in 2019. Meanwhile, in 2020 is targeted for housing.

“In 2019, all hotels, villas, restaurants and other tourist accommodations in Badung must make biopore,” he said.

His agency has made a pilot project in South Kuta housing areas that are prone to flood by making biopore absorption hole. Thus, in 2021 Badung can have realized a million biopore. “This program

will be able to cope with floods and puddles, so that garbage will not be claimed as scapegoat because flood often occurs every rainy season,” he said.

Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) recorded that nominal losses caused by natural disaster since early 2018 is estimated to reach IDR 3,223,000,000. These losses are caused by natural disasters such as floods, landslides and fallen trees happened at totally 62 points.

The most disasters are fallen trees reaching 17 incidents, followed by 10 incidents of flood, landslide (15), fire (9), revetment collapse (5) and house wall collapse (3). Besides, there are also other incidents like shrine collapse, road collapse and road damage respectively at one point. (kmb27)

The statement from the Ministry of Unification came after a highlevel North Korean delegation concluded a three-day visit which included an invitation for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to travel to Pyongyang for talks. “(The visit) shows that North Korea has a strong will to improve inter-Korean relations and that Pyongyang can make unprecedented and bold measures if deemed necessary,” the ministry said.

The visit of the delegation, which included North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong, intrigued many in South Korea, but also met scepticism about the North’s sincerity and willingness to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“Although many Koreans are welcoming North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, there are also significant criticism and concerns both domestically and internationally,” the statement said.

During the visit, Kim Yo Jong had delivered a letter from her brother asking South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang at his earliest convenience. Moon had replied, “Let’s create the environ-

ment for that to be able to happen,” according to the presidential Blue House. Such a meeting, if it came about, would mark the first interKorea summit since 2007.

The two Koreas are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict on the Korean peninsula ended in a ceasefire and not a truce.

The Unification Ministry said steps regarding the improvement of ties would be led by the two Koreas, but also in cooperation with related countries and the support of the international community.

“Under a strong position for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, Korea will faithfully implement the international sanctions on North Korea, while also adhering to the principle of resolution through peaceful means,” the statement said.

“If there is certain progress to set the conditions for denuclearisation, a full-fledged progress in interKorean relations will become possible,” it said, without elaborating.

The United States and South Korea have agreed on terms for further diplomatic engagement with North Korea, first with Seoul and then possibly leading to direct talks with Washington without pre-conditions,

Yonhap via REUTERS

South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea Kim Young Nam as Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, looks on after North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra’s performance in Seoul, South Korea, February 11, 2018.

Vice President Mike Pence said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

Speaking to the Washington Post aboard Air Force Two on his way home from the Winter Olympics in South Korea, Pence said Washing-

ton would keep up its “maximum pressure campaign” against Pyongyang but would be open to possible talks at the same time.

In previous years, North and South Korea have held reunions to bring together family members who

have been separated by the war.

Seoul made a standing offer to North Korea last year regarding another such reunion, details of which have yet to be hammered out between North and South Korea. (rtr)

Pakistani Taliban confirm deputy killed by drone, appoint new one PESHAWAR - The Pakistani Taliban confirmed on Monday that

their deputy leader was killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike last

REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

U.S. service member passes in front of a MQ-9 Reaper drone, one of a squadron that has arrived to step up the fight against the Taliban, at the Kandahar air base, Afghanistan January 23, 2018.

week and said they had appointed a new deputy in his place. A pair of suspected U.S. missile strikes killed the militant leader, Khalid Mehsud, also known by his alias Sajna, on Thursday last week in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan, Pakistani security officials said.

But there were conflicting accounts of the drone attack from Pakistani intelligence officials and militant sources. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to bring down the Pakistani state, told Reuters the drone strike was in the North Waziristan region, on the Pakistani side of the border.

“We confirm that deputy head of the TTP Khalid Mehsud died in a drone strike,” said the spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani.

He said Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed a

commander called Mufti Noor Wali Wali to replace their dead deputy. Wali, like his predecessor, would lead militants in South Waziristan, a rugged mountainous region on the Afghan border which has long been home to Pakistani, Afghan and al Qaedalinked foreign militants.

Militant sources said Wali, known by the nickname Ghar Starga, is a ruthless leader with experience working in Pakistani urban areas including the southern city of Karachi.

He studied in a seminary in Faisalabad city in the heartland province of Punjab and recently wrote a book eulogizing the founder of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a 2009 drone attack.

While U.S. and Afghan forces accuse Pakistan of failing to stop Afghan Taliban militants using safe havens on the Pakistani side of the

border, Pakistani Taliban militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and other attacks on Pakistan’s security forces. The Pakistani military mounted a major offensive against the militants in 2014, forcing many of them to withdrawn into Afghanistan.

The border region is off limits to journalists and verifying information independently is difficult. U.S. drone strikes in the border region have picked up since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, though they are a long way off their peak in 2010.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained since Jan. 1 when Trump’s denounced Pakistani “lies and deceit” over its support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies.

Last month, the United States suspended about $2 billion assistance to Pakistan. Pakistan denies sheltering militants. (rtr)

14

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Science

International

Surprising bat genetic trait holds secrets of longevity WASHINGTON - Bats are the longest-lived mammals relative to body size, and a species called the greater mouse-eared bat lives especially long. Researchers now have unlocked some of this bat’s longevity secrets, with hints for fighting the effects of aging in people.

Scientists said on Wednesday that unlike in people and most other animals, in this bat species the structures called telomeres located at the end of chromosomes, thread-like strands inside a cell’s nucleus that carry genes determining heredity, do not shorten with age.

Only 19 mammal species are longer-lived than humans relative to body size. Eighteen of them are bats, some living more than four decades. The other is a weird African rodent called a naked mole rat.

The researchers identified two genes in the greater mouse-eared bat that may be responsible for its unique longevity adaptation.

These mechanisms could be the focus of future studies on aging, with an eye toward extending healthy lifespans in people, the researchers said.

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten each time a cell divides.

This drives the natural aging process, leading to a breakdown of cells that over time can drive tissue deterioration and eventu-

ally death.

“Studying exceptionally longliving mammals that have naturally evolved mechanisms to fight aging is an alternative way to identify the molecular basis of extended ‘health spans,’” said biologist Emma Teeling of University College Dublin in Ireland, one of the study leaders.

“Bats are an exciting new model species that will enable us to identify new molecular mechanisms that drive healthy aging.”

The researchers studied 493 individual bats from four species: the greater mouse-eared bat and Bechstein’s bat, both members of the bat genus called Myotis; the greater horseshoe bat; and the common bent-wing bat. Of these, the greater mouseeared bat had the longest lifespan, about 37 years.

The greater mouse-eared bat and the closely related Bechstein’s bat had telomeres that did not shorten with age, suggesting that Myotis bats share this characteristic. Another Myotis bat, Brandt’s bat, holds the bat longevity record of 41 years.

Based on body size, the greater mouse-eared bat would be predicted to have a maximum lifespan of four years. Its range spans from Western Europe into the Middle East. It preys on large, ground-dwelling creatures like beetles, crickets and spiders. (rtr)

Courtesy Olivier Farcy/Handout via REUTERS

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

3

To reduce queue in Nusa Dua gate

JBT adds two ticket booths for motorcycle

Doctor David Albertini/University of Edinburgh/Handout via REUTERS

An undated picture shows a magnification of a lab-grown fully matured human egg ready for fertilization.

Scientists grow human eggs to full maturity in a lab

LONDON - Scientists have succeeded for the first time in growing human eggs in a laboratory from the earliest stages in ovarian tissue all the way to full maturity - a scientific step that had previously been taken in mice.

The greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) is shown in this undated handout photo taken in Brittany, France, released on February 7, 2018.

Bali News

International

Publishing their result in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction on Friday, scientists from Britain and the United States said it could one day help in developing regenerative medicine therapies and new infertility treatments.

In previous studies, scientists had developed mouse eggs in a laboratory to the stage where they produced live offspring, and had also matured human eggs from a relatively late stage of development.

This latest work, by scientists at two research hospitals in Edinburgh and the Center for Human Reproduction in New York, is the first time human eggs have been developed outside the human body from their earliest stage to full maturity.

“Being able to fully develop human eggs in the lab could widen the scope of available fertility treatments. We are now working on optimising the conditions that support egg development in this way and studying how healthy they are,” said Evelyn Telfer, who co-led the work.

Independent experts not directly involved in this work praised it as important, but also cautioned that there is much more to do before lab-grown human eggs could be safely be made ready for fertilisation with sperm.

“This early data suggests this may well be feasible in the future,” said Ali Abbara, a senior clinical lecturer in Endocrinology at Imperial College London. “(But) the technology remains

at an early stage, and much more work is needed to make sure that the technique is safe and optimised before we ascertain whether these eggs remain normal during the process, and can be fertilised to form embryos that could lead to healthy babies.”

Darren Griffin, a genetics professor at Kent University in the UK, said the work was “an impressive technical achievement”.

If success and safety rates were improved, he said, it could in future help cancer patients wishing to preserve their fertility while undergoing chemotherapy treatment, improve fertility treatments, and deepen scientific understanding of the biology of the earliest stages of human life. (rtr)

MANGUPURA — Frequent queues of motorcycles in the Nusa Dua gate make the Jasamarga Bali Tol (JBT) add two additional ticket booths for motorcycle so there will be a total of four ticket booths. All this time, there are only two motorcycle ticket booths in Nusa Dua gate.

Meanwhile, the motorcycles crossing the toll road from Nusa Dua direction are quite a lot.

When confirmed, Spokesperson of the Jasamarga Bali Toll, Putu Gandhi Ginatra, said the motorcycles crossing the toll road in the afternoon are mostly in the Nusa Dua gate when compared to other points because the afternoon is the time of going home from workplace. Therefore, the Nusa Dua toll gate is often hit by long queue of motorcycles in the afternoon. “On that account, to reduce the queue from the Nusa Dua direction, we add two more ticket booths for motorcycle, so that traffic jam can be resolved,” he said.

With the addition of 2 ticket booths for motorcycle in Nusa Dua gate, the Bali Mandara Toll as a whole has ten automatic toll gates (GTO) for motorcycles. In Benoa, there are three automatic toll gates for motorcycles, three gates in Ngurah Rai and four gates in Nusa Dua. Meanwhile, the distance of each ticket booth is ascertained to have been calculated and measured so that it will not disturb the road users when making transaction. Motorcycles have a standard distance of 1.25 meters. “We added the ticket booth in Nusa Dua because the space is still possible, so we dismantle the barrier or the mound behind the gate and divide it into four. Thus, the ticket booth will slightly move backwards,” he said.

He told the addition of such ticket booth has been planned prior to the underpass project because he estimated the tendency of traffic congestion on the toll road. “In the morning, the traffic congestion occurs in Benoa gate, but it is not too urgent because there have been three gate plus a multifunctional gate that can be allocated for motorcycle and car. Similarly, the Ngurah Rai gate has indeed a relatively quiet traffic compared to the other two gates,” he explained.

All this time, the vehicle traffic in the Bali Mandara Toll averagely reaches 40,000-44,000 per day, where the gate of Nusa Dua and Benoa are the largest contributor reaching around 40 percent per day from the total vehicles passing through the Bali Mandara Toll. Meanwhile, the Ngurah Rai gate contributes to about 20 percent of the total vehicles. “In terms of traffic percentage, motorcycle is 45 percent and car is 55 percent,” he said.

He did not denied if congestion frequently occurs in Nusa Dua gate.

It is admitted because the traffic entering the Bali Mandara Toll indeed increased after the workmanship of Ngurah Rai underpass project. Vehicle from Nusa Dua direction tends to directly pass through toll road when they wish to go to Denpasar. “At Ngurah Rai point, we also see an increase, but not significant,” he added.

Gandhi disclosed that currently in Nusa Dua has been operated three ticket booths for motorcycle, while another one is scheduled to be finished in March. He also appealed to the people using the Bali Mandara Toll to always ensure if they bring along the electronic money (Unik) and make sure if the balance is enough to pay toll road so as to avoid long queue at toll gate. (kmb23)

JBT adds two ticket booths for motorcycle

IBP/kmb

IBP/ian

Animals cannot be directed as models can, so if you are looking for a particular pose it may take some time and careful observation.

Shooting animals in the zoo requires patience and luck

IF you do not have the courage or time to ‘hunt’ for animals in the wild to get that interesting photo, dreamy photos of animals can also be acquired by going to the zoo. Armed with foresight, persistence and patience, it is possible to get photos with that wild look. Also photographing animals in the zoo can be a doorway for to practice for those wishing to become real wildlife photographers.

Indeed, the zoo can be used as a place to learn about some of the characteristics of different animals. Despite having become tame in the zoo, the natural character of most animals remains intact, especially in zoos that provide a semblance of natural habitat for the animals. Under such conditions, the animals retain their wild habits and provides a great opportunity for getting a great shot of an animal in it’s ‘natural habitat’.

Do not however assume that this task will be easy. It may be easier to get a close shot without having to use a fancy lense, however it may not be so easy to get a good shot through thick glass or when the animals are living in unpleasant conditions. Larger animals that are given space to

roam will require a longer lease as they may not be visible from the edge of their enclosure.

Luck is a factor Animals cannot be directed as models can, so if you are looking for a particular pose it may take some time and careful observation. If for example you wanted to get a shot of Bengal tigers moving in a group, you would have to know when they are most likely to engage in such an activity. Not knowing an animals habits can lead to frustration as your memory card is filed with shots of tigers lazying about.

Not exactly the shot you were looking for.

When photographing animals, luck plays an important role. Being ready to take a shot right as

two animals are mating or fighting is certainly a rare moment for any photographer. One must always be ready to snap a picture as such rare moments are hard to come by.

When photographing animals in the zoo, the use of continue / burst mode is highly recommended because animals tend to move in ways that we cannot predict.

If you use automatic settings, sports scene is recommended so that quick movements can be captured with clarity.

Patience is also an important thing to practice when photographing animals. It can take extraordinary patience to capture a fantastic moment. Sometimes, you may spend a whole day in front of the tiger’s cage and still have to go home empty handed. (ian)

2

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Bali News

International

Activities

International

After alert status of Mt. Agung lowered

Beats & Bikinis at the Courtyard Pool

BANGLI —The decrease in the alert status of Mount Agung from level IV (warning) to level III (watch) by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) on Saturday (Feb. 10) was welcomed happily by the evacuees in Bangli district. Dozens of evacuees from Bonyoh hamlet, Ban, Kubu, Karangasem, occupying the evacuation center in the Kayuambua Learning Activity Center (SKB), Susut, have returned to their hometown on Sunday morning (Feb. 11). Meanwhile, the evacuees occupying the Kindergarten/Elementary School Post, Kubu village, temporarily prefer to stay in the refugee camp.

Post Commander, Andy Pranoto, revealed on Sunday (Feb. 11) that after the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered by the PVMBG on Saturday (Feb. 10) dozens of residents occupying the refuge post at SKB Kayuambua, Susut, already returned home on Sunday morning (Feb. 11). He added that residents that returned home amount to 44 people or 13 families.

“All the evacuees returning home today (Sunday—Ed) are from Bonyoh hamlet, Ban, Kubu. Their goods are carried by private transport. To raise evacuees’ goods, they are assisted by a number of refuge post attendants and TNI personnel. Before the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered, some 163 people already went home on Friday (Feb. 9). So, now there are no more evacuees occupying the SKB post,” he said.

An officer of the Kubu Refugee Command Post, A.A. Gede Rai Sutresna, said that his management has provided information for all refugees if the alert status of Mount Agung has been lowered from warning to watch including the danger radius has also been narrowed from 6 km to 4 km.

Nevertheless, until now his post has not received any reports about evacuees that will return to their respective home. “Evacuees have not yet submitted if they go home. So far, they still survive in this evacuation. We do not know whether later or tomorrow (Monday—Ed) there are evacuees that will return home or not. Let’s wait,” he said Although evacuees have been allowed to go home, Sutresna said his post did not force them to return to their hometown. Admittedly, most refugees still choose to survive in the refuge because they are still anxious with the current conditions. Based on previous experience when they were allowed to go home and after staying at home, the Mount Agung erupted again so they were forced to flee again. Probably, this becomes their consideration to remain at refuge. “Maybe they still think twice whether they go home and remain to wait,” said the man familiarly addressed as Gung Ruwet.

An evacuee from Besakih Kawan hamlet, I Ketut Dadi, revealed that he is still discussing with family and relatives whether to go home or survive at the evacuation. He said that before going home he will check his house and the situation of his village. “Indeed, I have a desire to go home. I will return home tomorrow (Monday). But we will first have discussion with family and relatives. If going home, we will go home together,” he said.

He said that command post officers will not force him and other refugees to immediately return home. He said the officers will fully let the decision to him and other refugees whose residence sits outside the radius of 4 km.

Those who indeed dare to go home will be allowed. “The officers entirely give it to me. If wishing to go home, we will be allowed. However, if we remain to stay at refuge here, it’s okay. In essence, there is no force to go home,” said Dadi.

Another refugee, Mangku Rapi, from Angsoka hamlet, Besakih, said he still survives in the evacuation even though the distance of his house is in the radius of about 5.5 km from the peak. The road access to his house is broken off several months ago due to rain lava, so local residents become isolated. He worried if he goes home under such not-normal volcanic condition and if the eruption re-occurs, no officers will evacuate him and other residents.

“This is what I fear. If anyone can guarantee my safety and other residents, I want to go home. I am still afraid if the previous incident will repeat again. When I returned home, Mount Agung erupted. So, I had to evacuate again. Moreover, the road is broken off and cannot be passed by motorcycles or cars. I do not know whether there will be officers evacuating us in case the Mount Agung erupts again,” asked Mangku Rapi.

Ni Komang Karni from Pura hamlet, Sebudi, acknowledged that her hamlet chief is still discussing with the command post to express their gratitude to the officers that have been accommodating him and other residents for about four months in the evacuation. “I am still waiting for other residents. If they go home, I will also go home. Since we come here together, we must come home together as well. So, now we’re just waiting for the instruction from our hamlet chief,” she said. (kmb41)

Mulia Bali is gearing up for the highly-anticipated debut of Café Mambo, a weekly party featuring beats and bikinis. Premiering on Wednesday, 7th March 2018, it promises to be Bali’s ultimate sunset soiree with a revolving lineup of international DJ’s pumping out the tunes.

Styled after the legendary Café Mambo in Ibiza where people have come to party for more than 20 years, this lifestyle event is all about creating summer holiday magic for in-house guests and visitors alike. Kicking off at 3.00 pm sharp, it will take place each week on Wednesday, by the resort’s iconic Courtyard Pool surrounded by lush tropical gardens and Private Cabana’s for a more intimate pool experience.

Café Mambo at Mulia Bali’s

Dozens of evacuees in SKB return home, in Kubu still survive

Mulia Bali Presents Café Mambo

IBP/file

Tourism is the leading sector of Bali economics but it must developed into a world class destination.

Bali hoped to be world’s qualified destination, not to be sold cheaply

MANGUPURA —After the alert status of Mount Agung was lowered from level IV (warning) to level III (watch), the Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) hoped that tourist arrival in Bali will increase sharply. Moreover, all tourism players in Bali are also expected to unite.

After the number of tourist arrival rises, it should start by talking about quality and price. Bali is expected to be a world-class qualified destination. This was confirmed

by Chairman of Central Executive Board of ASITA, Asnawi Bahar, when met amid the celebration of the 47th anniversary of ASITA on Saturday (Feb. 10) at Bukit Pandawa Golf, Kutuh, South Kuta.

Asnawi said that ASITA will reorganize the business, especially the Chinese market. It is meant that Bali becoming a pride will not be sold cheaply. In addition, ASITA Bali should also play a role, not just become a spectator. “Quality of the packages should be enhanced and Bali should not be sold cheaply.

Good stuff should not be sold cheaply,” he said.

His management will encourage local and central government to be able to crack down on unauthorized travel agencies including many overseas travel agencies that come without license and do not partner with ASITA as a local association.

“This is the main point that should

get the attention. This must be cracked down on so the quality of tourism can be improved,” he said.

ASITA continues to improve the quality of Balinese products. Quantity improvement must also be balanced with quality improvement.

He hoped the spending money of tourists can be greater. “I hope the players will not repress hotels, we want tourists to come with big spending money. However, if given cheap price, they have the network, so this should be addressed,” he concluded.

For future tourism development, continued Asnawi, the association will penetrate for new markets. So far, Indonesian tourism has been supported by Australia, ASEAN and China. New markets such as the Middle East and India will be developed in the future. Recently, both have sharply visited Bali. So, the market penetration to be done is by trying to develop both potential markets.

To support these efforts, said Asnawi, the association encourages governments and airlines company

to fly directly from major cities in India in particular, and to other regions. In addition, it will also be done for the Middle East market.

“Other than India, in fact the tourist arrival from Middle East has also increased quite sharply,” he concluded.

In the meantime, the celebration of the 47th ASITA’s anniversary held in Bali is indeed in order to accelerate the recovery of Bali.

With the decline of the alert status of Mount Agung, the tourist visit to Bali reaches 14,000 people per day.

It means the figure has approached 100 percent because the tourist arrival usually reaches 15,000 people per day.

Currently, many extra flights and charter flights have been coming. Hopefully, this condition is expected to encourage the target of tourist visit of 17 million nationally and 7 million for Bali can be achieved. “Hopefully, Bali can reach 10 million, but they will not only focus in Badung. In addition, such number of tourist visit should be served well,” he hoped. (kmb23)

 Founder : K.Nadha,  General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Gugiek Savindra  Editors:Agus Toni, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Manik Astajaya, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Dewa Farendra. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

premier party will feature the Mambo Brothers. Raised in the clubbing utopia of Ibiza and as the sons of the founders of Café Mambo, they were exposed to some of the best DJs in the world from an early age as they soundtracked this celebrated sunset spot. Having commanded dance floors all around the globe, the Mambo Brothers are set to bring their dynamic DJing skills to Mulia Bali for a unique party experience.

Offering up sensational sounds with a distinct tropical vibe in a luxury resort setting, Café Mambo at Mulia Bali will be the party that has the whole island talking.

For more information, please visit www.themulia.com or call (62 361) 301 7777.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

15

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

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

16 Pages Number 50 10th year

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

New York sues Weinstein Co., Harvey Weinstein over sexual misconduct

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

Film producer Harvey Weinstein NEW YORK - New York’s attorney general sued the Weinstein Company and Harvey Weinstein on Sunday alleging years of sexual harassment and misconduct by the movie producer, in a move that could jeopardize talks on a potential sale of the studio.

Weinstein, co-founder of the Miramax studio, was one of Hollywood’s most influential men before more than 70 women accused him of sexual misconduct, including rape. He denies having non-consensual sex with anyone, and his lawyer said many of the latest allegations would turn out to be unmerited.

The civil suit alleges that the company’s executives and board repeatedly failed to protect employees from Weinstein, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. The suit also names Weinstein’s brother Bob, who cofounded the company.

The studio has been in talks to sell itself to a group of investors led by former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet, but Schneiderman’s lawsuit has put deal negotiations on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.

Schneiderman said he sued the company on Sunday in part because of reports that a sale of the studio could be imminent.

“Any sale of The Weinstein Company must ensure that victims will be compensated, employees will be protected going forward, and that neither perpetrators nor enablers will be unjustly enriched,” Schneiderman said.

The state is seeking an unspecified amount of restitution and damages, plus penalties, for harm to victims.

The lawsuit alleges that Weinstein, 65, sexually harassed employees and abused women for years. It accuses Weinstein Company executives, including his brother and co-CEO Bob, of failing to act despite repeatedly being presented with credible evidence of Weinstein’s sexual harassment and misconduct.

In a statement, Weinstein’s attorney Ben Brafman said a fair investigation by Schneiderman would prove that many of the allegations against his client were without merit.

“While Mr. Weinstein’s behavior was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality, and at the end of the inquiry it will be clear that Harvey Weinstein promoted more women to key executive positions than any other industry leader and there was zero discrimination at either Miramax or TWC,” Brafman said.

“If the purpose of the inquiry is to encourage reform throughout the film industry, Mr. Weinstein will embrace the investigation. If the purpose however is to scapegoat Mr. Weinstein, he will vigorously defend himself,” Brafman said.

Schneiderman said he used his subpoena power in an attempt to get around Non-Disclosure Agreements that Weinstein and the company signed with employees and others in what the attorney general described as an attempt to shield them from scrutiny. (rtr)

‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Tops Box Office With $38.8 Million, ‘Peter Rabbit’ Hops to $25 Million LOS ANGELES - Universal’s opening of “Fifty Shades Freed” is dominating North American moviegoing this weekend with a solid $38.8 million at 3,678 locations as cinemas await the arrival of “Black Panther.”

Sony’s launch of family comedy “Peter Rabbit” wound up with a better-than-expected $25 million at 3,725 sites. Clint Eastwood’s thriller “The 15:17 to Paris” from Warner Bros. arrived above forecasts at $12.6 million at 3,042 venues for the weekend.

A pair of sturdy holiday season holdovers in their eighth weekends took fourth and fifth as Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” finished with about $9.8 million at 3,126 sites and Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” grossed $6.4 million at 2,373 screens. “Jumanji” declined only 10 percent from the previous weekend and will finish the weekend with $365.7 million in 54 days in 38th place on the all-time domestic grosser list, $3 million behind “Despicable Me 2.” “Showman” slid only 17 percent and has totaled $146.5 million.

The finale of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy -- referred to in marketing materials as “the climax” -- is also launching in 57 international markets this weekend with about $100 million, which brings the franchise total to about $1.09 billion.

The weekend saw a significant increase in moviegoing in the wake of a slow Super Bowl session with $138 million, up 46 percent, according to comScore. Overall business was off 27 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when “The Lego Batman Movie” led with $53 million.

Moviegoing will receive another

IBP/net

“Fifty Shades Freed” is dominating North American moviegoing this weekend. major boost over the Presidents Day weekend with Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” opening Feb. 16 and forecasted to take in as much as $150 million during the Friday-Monday period. Overall year-to-date domestic business as of Sunday is $1.234 billion, down 1.8 percent from 2017.

“This weekend is merely the calm before the proverbial Marvelpowered storm as ‘Black Panther’ is poised to leap into theaters with potentially record-breaking results,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with com-

Score.

“Fifty Shades Freed” sees Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the conclusion of the events set in motion in 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” and 2017’s “Fifty Shades Darker.” Though the “Fifty Shades Freed” launch wound up above forecasts, it was not as strong as its predecessors. “Fifty Shades of Grey” opened with a sensational $85.2 million in 2015, and “Fifty Shades Darker” opened with $46.6 million on the same weekend last year. (rtr)

Russia hunts for body fragments, clues after fatal plane crash Passenger plane crashes near Moscow Russian passenger plane AN-148, operated by Saratov Airlines, crashed near Moscow soon after take-off on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board.

R U SS I A Crash location Origin: Moscow BELARUS

Intended path

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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

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

UKRAINE

Destination: Orsk KAZAKHSTAN

Romania Black Sea Sources: FlightAware; Maps4News; Reuters J. Wang, 12/02/2018

200m

Moscow - Within minutes of taking off from Moscow, a Russian passenger plane crashed into the snow, killing all 71 on board.

Sky News Moscow Correspondent Diana Magnay reports from the scene of the recovery operation, where crews are working in extreme conditions to investigate the disaster.

The crash site’s proximity to Moscow - some 60km (37 miles) by road from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport - at least means relatively fast access for emergency personnel.

Not that this was ever anything other than a recovery operation - not given the speed of the plane’s descent in its final moments, dropping 40 metres per second, according to the flight radar tracker.

But perhaps better here than in a more remote corner of this vast country and an even longer wait

for anguished relatives.

The small lane leading up towards the village of Argunovo has turned into a heavy machinery highway. Snowploughs, tractors and lorries filled with emergency committee personnel queued one behind the other.

Weaving their way through, the odd Mercedes fitted with blue emergency sirens carryied an official to the site, the odd rust-bucket rumbled through the snow - presumably a local trying to get home - and more than a few snowmobiles dragged sledges loaded with gear. We journalists are told to go by foot and there is only so far we can go.

We are kept away from the crash site itself, where the emergency ministry says it has installed

36 flashlight towers so that crews can work through the night.

It is minus four degrees for this most miserable of tasks but at least the snow has stopped.

CCTV footage from a house in the village shows the plane coming down.

A distant fireball flares against a white snowscape - a children’s swing in the foreground making this awful moment all the more surreal. (rtr) 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.