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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Victoria’s Secret apologises for ‘insensitive’ transgender model comments

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

THE lingerie brand’s chief marketing officer Ed Razek had said transgender models should not be included in their annual shows.

Victoria’s Secret chief marketing officer has apologised for saying transgender models should not be included in the brand’s annual shows.

Ed Razek, who was discussing diversity in an interview with Vogue magazine, has since said his remarks were “insensitive”.

The US lingerie brand’s 2018 showcase took place in New York on 8 November, and featured models including Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Mr Razek, who was part of the casting team, told Vogue he had considered putting transgender and plus-sized models in the show.

He added that he didn’t because the company “did not market to the whole world”.

Mr Razek went on to say: “Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. “Do we offer larger sizes?

Yes.” He added: “(People

ask) shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should... the show is a fantasy. “It’s a 42minute entertainment special.

“That’s what it is. “It is the only one of its kind in the world.”

His comments come as Victoria’s Secret has experienced falling sales since 2016.

After the remarks attracted a backlash on social media, the brand tweeted an apology from Mr Razek.

It read: “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. “I apologise. “To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. “We’ve had transgender models come to castings... And like many others, they didn’t make it...

But it was never about gender.” (IBP/net)

The Victoria’s Secret fashion show took place in New York

IBP/net

Magritte painting fetches $26.8 million in NY

IBP/net

‘Le principe du plaisir’ (on the right), by Belgian painter Rene Magritte, fetched $26.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

NEW YORK - A painting by Rene Magritte sold for $26.8 million Monday at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, setting a record for a work by the Belgian surrealist.

The painting entitled “Le principe du plaisir” topped the price fetched by “La corde sensible”, which was sold in February 2017 in London for $17.9 million.

Sotheby’s had estimated the painting sold Monday as being worth 15 to 20 million dollars. It said seven collectors -- an unusu-

ally high number -- bid for it.

Other paintings on offer on the second night of the autumn art auctions in New York also surpassed their estimated value.

“Improvisation on Mahogany”

by Russian-born Wassily Kandinsky, fetched $24.2 million, compared to its pre-sale estimate of 15-20 million dollars.

A painting that was supposed to be one of the main attractions of the auction failed to lure a buyer.

It was Marsden Hartley’s “Pre-

War Pageant”, considered to be one of the first totally abstract works in the history of American art.

It was estimated at $30 million, nearly five times the record for that US painter.

On Sunday, the Vincent Van Gogh Painting “Coin de jardin avec papillons”, estimated at $40 million, went begging at a Christie’s auction of Impressionist and Modern art.

The fall art auctions continue through Thursday evening. (afp)

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VALERIE MACON / AFP

In this file photo taken on June 28, 2017 executive producer/comic book writer Stan Lee attends the world premiere of “Spider-man: Homecoming” at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Marvel legend Stan Lee, who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like SpiderMan and The Hulk who now dominate the world’s movie screens, has died.

Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee dead at 95: US media

Marvel legend Stan Lee, who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk who now dominate the world’s movie screens, has died.

He was 95 years old.

Lee, the face of comic book culture in the United States, died early Monday in Los Angeles, according to US entertainment outlets including The Hollywood Reporter. He had suffered a number of illnesses in recent years.

“My father loved all of his fans,” his daughter told Hollywood monitor TMZ. “He was the greatest, most decent man.” The New Yorker, known for his distinctive tinted glasses and impish grin,

frequently appeared at fan events where he was revered.

Lee ended up in the comics business by accident, thanks to an uncle who got him a job when he was a teenager filling artists’ inkwells and fetching coffee.

“I felt someday I’d write the ‘Great American Novel’ and I didn’t want to use my real name on these silly little comics,” he once said, explaining why he had forsaken his given name, Stanley

Lieber.

Lee rose through the ranks to become a comics writer, making millions of superhero fans dream of his fantastic universes and humans with extraordinary powers, and eventually led the Marvel empire for decades as its publisher.

From Spidey to Black Panther to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Lee collaborated with other authors and illustrators to put his lively imagination on the page.

Iron Man, Thor and Doctor Strange would follow -- and today, all three heroes have multi-film franchises that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lee has appeared in cameo roles in nearly every Marvel movie -- including as a bus driver in “Avengers: Infinity War,” a film that united many of the indelible characters he brought to life.

“Awww man, heartbreaking.

R.I.P. to a true pioneer and legend,” tweeted Australian filmmaker James Wan, who directed many of the “Saw” and “Insidious” movies as well as helming “Aquaman,” an

upcoming superhero film based on the character by Marvel rival DC Comics.

“My youth wouldn’t have been the same without him. So grateful to have met the guy, and told him how thankful I was for his work. #stanlee” (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

2

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Bali News

International

Indonesia to free Bali Nine drug smuggler Lawrence: official

The only female member of the “Bali Nine” heroin-trafficking gang will be freed from an Indonesian prison next week, a corrections official said Monday, after serving 13 years in a case that caused a diplomatic furore.

Australian Renae Lawrence, 41, was arrested in 2005 after she was caught with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin strapped to her body as she tried to fly out of the international airport on the holiday island of Bali.

Lawrence was sentenced to life imprisonment, but her sentence was later reduced to 20 years and then further reduced due to good behaviour. “She will be released on November 21,” Made Suwendra, head of the Bangli prison on Bali where Lawrence is incarcerated, told AFP. “(Lawrence) is a nice person. Accommodating, easy to work with and be friends with. There have been no problems since she’s been here.”It is likely that Lawrence will be deported shortly after her prison release. She will be the only member of the Bali Nine to win their freedom so far.

Gang ringleaders Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic row between Australia and Indonesia, which has some of the world’s strictest drug laws including

the death penalty.

In June, another Bali Nine member Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in prison from stomach cancer, while the remaining five are currently serving life sentences.

Some critics have lashed out at the Australian police for tipping off their Indonesian counterparts about the gang and putting its members at risk of execution in Indonesia.

High-profile cases like that of Australian Schapelle Corby, who spent more than nine years behind bars for smuggling marijuana into Bali, have stoked concern that Indonesia is becoming a destination for trafficked drugs. Corby was deported in 2017 after several years of parole. (afp)

In this file photo taken on October 21, 2005, Australian Renae Lawrence holds hands with relative as she asks for support before her trial at a court in Denpasar. Renae Lawrence, the only female member of an Australian gang that smuggled heroin into Indonesia, sparking a diplomatic row after two of its members were executed, is set to be released from prison next week, an official said on November 12, 2018.

ARDILES RANTE / AFP

Shops of Chinese mafia network closed

Affected entrepreneurs ask Bali to cooperate with mafia

DENPASAR - The closure of Chinese mafia network shops has an impact on other businesses such as travel agencies, water sports, spa and food outlets to tour guides.

Primarily, it is related to the decrease in the number of Chinese tourists after the shops were closed. The employers and employees affected complained to the Bali House of Representatives on Monday (Nov. 12). Interestingly, one of them even hoped that Bali makes cooperation with the mafia.

“Their shop is not only in Indonesia, but also all over the world through mafia network. For example, if we don’t cooperate with the mafia, only few tourists will come,” said Hendi, a tour guide.

Hendi added that Chinese and Hong Kong mafia dare to spend billions or even trillions of rupiahs per day to bring in Chinese tourists to Bali. According to him, what Bali needs is not a quality but quantity of guests. “The rule is only one namely they have to enter the shop. But it doesn’t mean shopping. If we ban, guests do not come. “Inevitably, we must agree,” he added.

A travel entrepreneur, Rusli Wisanto, admitted to losing money because the closed shops canceled the contract unilaterally. That means he no longer receives subsidies as much as the number of Chinese tourists landing in Bali. Meanwhile, each guest is valued at around USD 205 by the shops.

“Subsidies depend on the number of guests coming into the shop. Each shop appraises per head differently. So, the highest price is around USD 205,” said the man who is familiarly called Kris. According to Kris, he still has around 1,000 Chinese tourists that will arrive until the end of the month. The loss suffered is multiplied by USD 205. During low season, Chinese guests traveling to Bali reach around 1,500 people per month. Meanwhile, in high season it can reach more than 3,000s.

“We’re not a big company, we’re a small one. The impact

only happens to the small ones. Maybe the big ones do not speak out because many administrative processes are not executed. In other words, hopefully, after this incident, the companies with big capital will not become the ruler in Bali,” he hoped.

An MSME player at Bongkasa, I Wayan Setiawan, stated that his income has now decreased dramatically. Before the issues of Chinese shops came to surface, there were approximately thousands of Chinese tourists coming to Bongkasa.

But right now, there are almost no guests coming. Actually, there is a rafting business employing local workers there.

“Before this issue emerged, the arrival of tourists to our village was crowded. It has an impact on tour guides, and the people selling and there is contribution to local hamlet as well. We got it from guests. All communities enjoy the economic turnaround from what they say trash tourists.

Formerly, when there was the visit of elite tourists we just could watch,” he explained.

IBP/Eka Adhyasa

Setiawan asked the government to find a solution first before closing the Chinese network shops. Water tourism entrepreneurs in Nusa Penida, I Putu Darmaya, stated the big problem after Chinese network shops were closed is that who will bring in Chinese tourists to Bali. So far, those shops have brought in guests to Bali by investing.

“Precisely, the government is actually benefited because without spending money the guests had arrived. Who brought it? Those guests are brought in by them (Chinese network shops—Ed). Now, they have been closed,” he said.

If indeed there are deviations committed, continued Darmaya, they should be invited to sit down together. It does not necessarily mean if he tends to support the quantity because the quality of guests must also be prioritized. However, it will depend very much on the budget owned by tourists. Now, the government just needs to choose one of them.

“In our opinion, we hope both, whether in terms of good and bad quality. One portion is cheap and another portion is expensive. We have to sort out lest blame on the market.

Cheap markets are stopped if guests in Bali are entirely of good quality. However, as long as the expensive guests do not exist, why don’t we take the cheap ones first,” he explained.

Chairperson of Commission IV of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nyoman Parta, gave emphasis the business carried out in Bali must be fair. Therefore, the closure of the unlicensed shops and the licensed shops but their business is not fair must still be done. On the other hand, apparently this has an impact on parties indirectly related to Chinese network shops.

“There are swings, water sport, spa and roasted pig stalls having nothing to do with the shop closure but suffering loses because the shops are closed. This must be arranged immediately so that they will rise again,” he said. (kmb32)

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Activities

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

15

Harper Kuta - Bali Launches New “Honeymoon Intimate Package“

Known as a hidden paradise, Bali is the perfect island to celebrate love. To ensure that all couples can celebrate their love hassle-free, Harper Kuta Bali is proud to announces the new “Honeymoon Intimate Package” that features ultimate romantic experience.

With only IDR 3.079.000,++ Honeymoon Intimate Package features 3-nights stay at our spacious and modern Deluxe Room.

Upon arrival, honeymooners will be greeted with a complimentary Rustik honeymoon cake, romantic honeymoon set up and fresh rose petals bed arrangement. In addition, the couples can share their intimate session with 2-hours couple spa at The Spa. A 4-course romantic candle light dinner under the stars at Rustik Bistro & Bar will ensure that couples remember

every single moment staying at Harper Kuta Bali Hotel “Our team at Harper Kuta - Bali always try to do their best creating perfect honeymoon stay for every couples. We provide not only a variety of romantic facilities, but also a chance for each guests to share an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon activities. By providing Honeymoon Intimate Package, we hope that Harper Kuta - Bali will always be remembered as a romantic and enjoyable hotel in the heart of Legian street,” says Monik R. Artajaya, Director of Sales & Marketing Harper Kuta - Bali.

For reservations and further information, please call our reservation team at +62 361 8469869 or email us at KutaInfo@HarperHotels.com or visit our website: kuta. harperhotels.com

14

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Technology

International

Bali News

International

Never without their smartphones: a global revolution

NOAH BERGER / AFP

In this file photo taken on September 12, 2018 Apple iPhone Xr models rest on display during a launch event in Cupertino, California.

Smartphones: a double-edged sword for terrorists

PARIS - Bombs and guns aside, a smartphone can be a powerful weapon in the hands of a terrorist -- but it can also provide intelligence services with the tools to track them down.

Three years ago to the day, the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015 remain one of the best known examples of a large-scale assault that could not have been planned without phones.

The Islamic State group gunmen and bombers who struck the Bataclan concert hall and other nightlife spots used them extensively to coordinate the carnage, said a former French anti-terrorist official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Just before entering the Bataclan, where they massacred 90 people, the attackers had sent a text message to accomplices in Belgium: “We’re going ahead. It’s started.”

But if smartphones have been a “game-changer” for jihadists, their use by the world’s extremists goes much further back than the Paris attacks.

“As of 2003, in Iraq, home-made bombs started being set off by the sending of an SMS as American convoys drove past. This caught on and was then repeatedly used by AlQaeda,” the ex-official told AFP. These days, encrypted apps such

as Telegram, Wire and WhatsApp can help jihadists communicate while evading police tracking -- or at least complicate efforts to decode their messages.

For several years IS has published online tutorials in several languages explaining to jihadists how to choose the best software to evade detection in war zones.

For new recruits in developing countries, where smartphones are more common than computers, there are different strategies still.

“Phones are no longer phones -- they’re computers,” said Laurent Heslault, director of security strategies at Symantec, a security group.

“They are far more powerful than what we had on our desks 10 years ago,” he added.

“They have more computing power, more memory and connection capabilities. They are very powerful tools when it comes to communicating.”

That has also made it much easier for jihadist groups to recruit new members.

Smartphones “enable people to reach out for propaganda” with the swipe of a screen, said the retired official.

“Thirty years ago, guys used to

exchange video cassettes, then it was CDs. Now it’s online and can be looked up at any time.”

For propaganda-makers, videos of attacks can be filmed and uploaded in the blink of an eye.

“You can film attacks, claim responsibility, use (a phone) to take photos and film reconnaissance operations,” the ex-official said.

- Flip side of the phone -

But the smartphone can be an extremist’s downfall as well as their best asset.

Intelligence agencies have grown better at using phones to identify suspects, spy on them -- and, in case of capture, lift data for use as evidence in court.

That in turn has raised difficult questions for tech giants who promise their users privacy.

Most famously, Apple faced a court showdown with the FBI after agents sought access to the data of the attackers who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015.

Investigators dropped the case after finding a way into the phone without help from Apple, which argued that helping authorities access a phone would set a dangerous precedent.

Further afield, governments have used phone data extensively to pinpoint extremist suspects.

The French military intervention in Mali, launched in 2013 after jihadists took over the northern half the country, started with air strikes whose targets were chosen based on phone data, the former French official said.

“Today all air strikes focus on telephones,” he added.

“Even if you keep changing the SIM card the phone has its own identity and once detected can continue being tracked.”

And when it comes to police investigations, smartphones sometimes provide more information than their owners. They might allow investigators to work their way back along an information trail, snare other members of a suspect’s network, and track sleeper cells, he added.

“Smartphones make you a target,” the expert said.

“Because of this jihadist leaders have learned to keep away from them. For the past few years, there’s been a marked return to using human envoys,” he added. (afp)

IBP/net

Intelligence agencies have grown better at using phones to identify suspects, spy on them—and, in case of capture, lift data for use as evidence in court.

3

REI Bali prepares vertical home designs

Targeting millennial generation

PARIS - At the sharp end of conflict in Syria, in a schoolchild’s bag in Kenya, whether fighting deadly diseases or studying forestry, the smartphone has become ubiquitous in just over a decade.

This year, the number of users is expected to pass three billion, and AFP photographers have sampled how the phones have become a mainstay of lives around the world for people who cannot live without them.

Take Moris Atwine, 25. The Ugandan entrepreneur helped to develop a mobile app to aid in the diagnosis of malaria, a worldwide killer, without the need for a blood sample, and transmit the result in seconds.

Qiao Xi, 21, describes her smartphone as her “boyfriend”. From an all-blue studio, the Beijing-based vlogger live-streams songs, dance moves and observations about her daily life to some 600,000 followers on the Huoshan channel.

From the frivolous to the deadly serious, Mohammed Hamroush is a member of the “White Helmets” group, which rushes to help the wounded in rebel-held parts of Syria.

Hamroush’s smartphone helps the volunteer to track bombardments, get to where help is needed, and allows his worried wife to know he’s safe.

Inna Salminen works in far calmer conditions, using her smartphone to survey the forests of Finland, but knows too that the device can be a lifesaver if she gets lost in a remote area.

The 27-year-old conservation expert speaks for a whole generation when she describes only having a “hazy memory” of life before smartphones.

Aged 13, Imelda Mumbi has no such memory at all. The Kenyan schoolgirl uses her smartphone for fun, of course, but also to help her studies.

Imelda counts on Eneza, an interactive educational app which has about three million users worldwide, plugging her corner of Africa into a global network that has grown from nothing in a few short years. (afp)

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

DENPASAR — Real Estate Indonesia (REI) of Bali Chapter has prepared a vertical house design. This will be discussed at the regional working meeting of the REI Bali next December.

In the regional meeting, local government, Customary Village Main Assembly (MUDP), and the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) will be invited to discuss vertical houses in terms of customs, culture and rules.

Regent of Karangasem, I Gusti Ayu Mas Sumatri

IBP/kmb

Regent Mas Sumatri

Determined to make Karangasem beggarfree in 2020

AMLAPURA — Until now, a number of residents of Karangasem, especially residents of Munti Gunung, are still homeless and beggars.

To make the residents no longer beg, various efforts have been made by the local government, where one of which is by implementing the program named My Village Is Waiting.

Through this program, Karangasem is expected to be free from beggars in 2020.

Regent of Karangasem, I Gusti Ayu Mas Sumatri, said the My Village Is Waiting program in Karangasem is in the process after being commenced last August with the opening ceremony of skill training and groundbreaking of the construction of 50 units of home for Socially Assisted Citizens (WBS) currently still wandering and begging. The effort carried out is part to realize poverty reduction. Since begging is a part of people with social welfare problems (PMKS), it must receive proper services for their welfare. In 2017, Karangasem Social Agency already provided incense making machines and tools used to make palm-leaf oblations and marketing assistance to the former social coaching participants and beggars.

Mas Sumatri said that in the future, the Munti Gunung region will be directed to the development through alleviation of beggar based on tourism village. Actually, they have potential in the form of stretches of hills and valleys that can be developed into natural tourism. It retains Padpad spring known as breadwinner and can be developed into spiritual tour-

ism. It is located in a valley, very beautiful and challenging to visit.

In addition, Munti Gunung can also be developed into Organic Cashew Agro Tourism, Rosella tea, palm leaf fruit as well as creative agro industry with various industrial and culinary activities.

“We hope the Social Guidance and Rehabilitation program of the Bali Social Agency together with the Ministry of Social Affairs on this occasion is expected to continue in the future according to the stages that must be carried out together through synergy with various programs implemented.

Hopefully, there will be no more residents of the Karangasem district especially the residents of Munti Gunung that are still begging, and in 2020 Karangasem can be declared free from beggars,” she said.

Head of Karangasem Social Agency, Ni Ketut Puspa Kumari, explained the development process for My Village Is Waiting experienced several problems, including the coincidence of Usaba ritual held at the location. In addition, there are also some technical problems and they are expected to find out solution in the evaluation meeting. Of course, some obstacles still occur in the field in convincing the public that this program will actually have a positive impact on their life later.

Moreover, lately there was a rumor stating there is an illness caused by the development believed to have a psychical element. “We have also carried out psychical approach by holding special rituals,” said Puspa Kumari. (kmb41)

Chairman of the REI Bali, Pande Agus Permana Widura, said the vertical housing would be discussed in the Regional Working Meeting. He hoped the meeting can find an agreement to be realized immediately because vertical living is something needed in Bali today.

“Right now we are even in the stage of designing vertical housing. Yesterday, we also talked to the Housing Agency and indeed it has the same ideas,” he stated on Sunday (Nov. 11) in Denpasar.

He emphasized to its members to keep Balinese design because it is closely related to Balinese customs and culture.

He studied the type of millennial in meeting their housing needs.

They are used to living not in their homes like boarding or rental house. He saw the millennial will not be going through a cultural shock because they are used to living outside their homes.

“What distinguishes them is that in the end they can have an investment, not just pay contributions per month but without investment.

With this idea, I hope that anyone can have a place to live in, invest and have a decent place,” he said.

The constraint experienced in building vertical occupancy is the maximum height of 15 meters in accordance with the Regional Regulation. With this regulation, 15 meter may consist of 4-5 floors, and then in terms of housing prices, it is not in line with the community’s affordability. “I strive to keep the price affordable for the community,” he said.

Vertical house prices highly depend on the area and land area.

The larger the land used to build a vertical house, the smaller the cost will be. With the land area of only 5,000 square meters, the price of vertical housing can be around IDR 400-450 million per unit. “Hopefully, it can be reduced again. So, I am still pursuing the installments so that they are not too heavy,” he concluded.

The target of vertical houses is millennial generation because it is the fastest adaption to change, compared to the previous generation.

Besides, the millennial generation has very open minded. “They have a great desire to look for a place

to live in but the obstacles lie in the price that is not affordable to them. If this can be adopted, I am confident the millennial will first try for this vertical shelter,” he said.

Construction of vertical housing is a solution because the land in Bali is increasingly narrow so that vertical houses can control land conversion. On the other hand, there is still land that has not been maximized as a place to live in.

However, in terms of infrastructure, it has not been supported.

According to him, vertical housing can better adopt Balinese customs and culture. What is happening now is the house built to be used as a room -- a place to live in.

“This indirectly damages Balinese custom itself. In the old days when

Pande Agus Permana Widura

people had a house and he worked in the paddy fields, there was a term of ‘hut’ in the paddy field. Well, we analogize such vertical housing to that hut. Thus, traditional house can still exist, but when working in the city, they stay in the ‘urban hut.’

With this hut, traditional houses can be maintained and the land conversion can be controlled,” he explained.

Another member of the REI Bali, I Made Dwi Indrawan, said the times have changed. If persisting on using the basis of the 15-meter local regulation, Bali will get marginalized compared to other regions whose spirit is not in line with that of the central government, namely maintaining the green belt and food needs. (kmb42)

IBP/kmb

4

Bali News

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Fear of being categorized into illegal levies

‘Incomparable’ pink diamond could smash record at Geneva auction

Customary village worried to collect obligatory levies BANGLI - The red handed operation (OTT) carried out by law enforcement officials to ticket attendants at the Tirta Empul tourist attraction in Gianyar recently caused particular concern for customary village in Bangli. Chief of Serokadan customary village, Dewa Gede Oka, admitted that after the OTT, he was worried to carry out any levies such as obligatory levy (peturunan). Probably, the obligatory levy having been commonly collected in customary villages for the purpose of refurbishing temples or temple festival can be categorized into extortion.

When interviewed on Monday (Nov. 12), Dewa Oka regretted the existence of OTT to ticket attendants in customary village. After the OTT, according to him, it is now required a common understanding of the customary village bylaw (awig-awig) and its perarem or appendix. He said the rules are truly made as a binder of the local custom’s solidity. “Customary village has existed long before the Indonesia’s Independence, so the rules of positive legal products are far below the existence of the custom itself. A customary decision automatically binds on customary members. Mainly regarding the OTT, this is a very dilemmatic case.

If this continues, what will happen to the continuity of customary village?” he asked.

This man, who is also a member of the Bangli House of Representatives, admitted to be worried to collect any levies in customary village such as the obligatory levies. All this time, such levies are collected based on the results of customary meeting used for the improvement of temples, organizing temple festival (piodalan) and other customary activities. According to him, the customary obligatory levies can only be categorized into illegal levies if the regulation is not yet understood carefully. “Which are the customary rules and which are the positive laws must be understood.

Well, sometimes the customary decisions intersect with positive law or national law,” he said.

To anticipate similar cases in Bangli, according to Dewa Oka, there needs to be a unification of perceptions of all customary villages and its chief. The government and customary village officials must sit together and find a solution so that customary village is truly protected in the legal field.

“Without finding the solution or being resolved, as a chief of customary village, I am quite worried.

I will not dare to collect any levies because the peturunan can also be categorized into illegal levies.

Then, if the condition is like this who will be able to maintain our customary village?” he asked. (kmb40)

Dewa Gede Oka

IBP/kmb

13

Roslan RAHMAN / AFP

IBP/kmb

The Semarapura Tengah Night Festival i was officially closed by Regent I Nyoman Suwirta on Sunday night (Nov. 12).

Suwirta closes Semarapura Tengah Night Festival

Klungkung youth hoped to keep on innovating

SEMARAPURA - Having lasted since last Friday (Nov. 9), the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival in front of the office of Klungkung regent was officially closed by Regent I Nyoman Suwirta on Sunday night (Nov. 12). Despite the rain, the enthusiasm of community was very booming to watch the entertainment and visit the MSME stands.

The closing ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Indonesia Anti-Doping Institute (LADI), Syaifuddin Munis, Chief of the Family Empowerment and Welfare (PKK) of Klungkung, Mrs. Ayu Suwirta, Subdistrict Head of Klungkung, Komang Gde Wisnuadi, and the people witnessing the closing of the festival.

Regent Suwirta was very impressed with the extraordinary innovation made by young people of Klungkung, especially that of Semarapura Tengah organizing the festival. According to him, such activities must also be followed by all other village youth clubs of Klungkung in the future. This kind of activity is a form of motivation and enthusiasm for young people so that in the future they can innovate in making a better concept.

“In the future, I have assigned the related committee to immediately gather young people that we will give an understanding, training and then how to make the appropriate branding,” said Suwirta.

Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesia Anti-Doping Institute (LADI), Syaifuddin Munis, greatly appreciated to the festival. According to him, young people in Klungkung district are able to make the best steps as well as innovative event. He added that young people are a strong foundation for building this country. Therefore, young people of Klungkung in particular are expected to have innovation for the best programs. “Keep on making innovation so that such events can be maintained properly,” ordered Syaifuddin.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the Putra Sesana village youth club, I Gede Jana Utama, said the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival is different from the other festival in general. This is the only one and first held by the Putra Sesana village youth club at Semarapura Tengah village. Moreover, this festival is motivated by the concern of the Putra Sesana to provide a medium for the MSME players at Semarapura Tengah to develop further. “I see the potential of the MSMEs at

Semarapura Tengah is quite large, so that we want to provide space for them to develop themselves more,” said Gede Jana Utama.

In addition to facilitating the MSME players, the festival is also intended to encourage youth members to be more creative in innovation. “We also mean this activity to direct our members to do positive and beneficial things for the welfare of the community,” he said.

During the three days, the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival carried out various activities in succession. Visitors could enjoy a variety of culinary delights from the MSME players in Klungkung.

Besides, there were exhibitions of various MSMEs, ranging from fashion sector to the creative industries. In addition, some public entertainments were held ranging from fashion shows, traditional dance competitions, female barong ket, theater, comedy to music featuring celebgram Ratih Padnyaswari and musician Bayu Cuaca. (win)

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a business forum on the sidelines of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore on November 12, 2018.

‘We don’t need their prize’: Myanmar defiant as Amnesty pulls Suu Kyi award

YANGON - Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire.

Suu Kyi’s international reputation as a rights icon is in pieces and Amnesty’s move is the latest in a string of rescinded accolades.

Canada revoked her honorary citizenship last month and the US Holocaust Museum in March took back an award named after concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel.

Institutions that once showered Suu Kyi with titles are rapidly distancing themselves from a leader they argue is doing little in the face of alleged genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya minority.

Amnesty’s “Ambassador of Conscience Award” was bestowed in 2009 and other recipients include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Ai Wei Wei. “Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights,” Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group.

“Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as

a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you.”

But domestically, Suu Kyi remains popular across vast swathes of Myanmar and within her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 2015 ending decades of military-backed rule.

The stripping of awards not only harms the “dignity” of Suu Kyi, but also that of all NLD members, the party’s spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding he thought this was all part of a wider conspiracy.

“All these organisations are working for the Bengalis who have left the country in order to get citizenship,” he said, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya that is widely accepted in Myanmar and falsely implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Deputy Minister for Information Aung Hla Tun told AFP he was personally sad and disappointed

by Amnesty’s announcement and

said Suu Kyi was being treated “unfairly”.

Such moves would only “make the people love her more”, he added.

People on the street in Yangon were defiant.

“Their withdrawal is pretty childish. It’s like when children aren’t getting along with each other and take back their toys,” 50-yearold Khin Maung Aye said.

“We don’t need their prize,” said Htay Htay, 60.

More than 720,000 Rohingya were driven over the border to Bangladesh in a crackdown that started in August 2017, and refugees have detailed horrific testimony of murder, rape, torture and arson.

The military says it was defending itself against Rohingya militants.

UN investigators have called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide and accused Suu Kyi’s government of complicity, though has stopped short of calling for her to be hauled before a court. (afp)

GENEVA - An exceptionally rare 19-carat pink diamond goes under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday, when it could fetch $50 million (44 million euros), setting a new record for a stone of its kind.

The Pink Legacy used to belong to the Oppenheimer family, which for decades ran the De Beers diamond mining company, but auction house Christie’s refused to say who the current owner was.

Christie’s international head of jewellery, Rahul Kadakia, described The Pink Legacy as “one of the world’s greatest diamonds”.

The rectangular-cut diamond has been graded “fancy vivid” -- the highest possible grade of colour intensity.

Christie’s has noted that in the salesroom, fancy vivid pink diamonds over 10 carats are “virtually unheard of” and that only four vivid pink diamonds or over 10 carats have ever been offered at auction.

One of them, the nearly 15carat Pink Promise, was sold last November at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong for $32.5 million.

That amounts to $2.176 million per carat, which remains the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

- Record price possible Eddie LeVian, CEO of jewellers Le Vian, said that record could fall

at Tuesday’s auction, which is being held at the ultra-luxurious Four Seasons des Bergues hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva.

“We’ve recently witnessed a meteoric rise in the number of the world’s ultra-high net worth individuals who view rare, natural fancy colour diamonds as investments,” Le Vian said in a statement.

“I therefore believe the Pink Legacy will beat the current world auction record,” he added.

The stone was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago and was probably cut in the 1920 and has not been altered since, Christie’s said.

“Imagine a domino that you have cut the corners off of,” JeanMarc Lunel, an international jewellery specialist at Christie’s, recently told AFP, pointing out that the cut is a “classical so-called emerald cut”, which stands out from the typical, more rounded, multi-facetted cuts used today.

The classic rectangular cut is traditionally used for white stones, but is rare for pink diamonds.

Christie’s said the Pink Legacy is “the largest and finest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever offered at auction by the company,” calling the stone “incomparable.”

“It is probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction,” Lunel said. (afp)

Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The Pink Legacy, a 18.96 carat fancy vivid pink diamond once owned by Oppenheimer family is displayed on November 8, 2018 during a press preview ahead of sales by Christie’s auction house in Geneva.

12

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

BUSINESS

DUBAI - Higher oil prices are helping to offset increases in public spending by the Middle East’s oil exporting heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, with these countries narrowing their budget deficit by $77 billion, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The IMF projects that Saudi Arabia’s economy will see 2.2 percent growth this year and 2.4 percent next year, after shrinking 0.9 percent last year. Saudi Arabia is aiming to balance its budget by 2023.

Iran’s economy is expected to contract by 1.5 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2019, the report said.

This comes after Iran’s economy saw growth of 12.5 percent in 2016 and 3.7 in 2017, after sanctions had been temporarily lifted.

Azour said one of the most pressing issues facing Iran is aligning the official local currency exchange rate with black market rates.

The IMF cautions that global oil prices, while potentially buoyed in the near-term by cuts in Iranian oil supply, are expected to slide down to around $60 a barrel in the next three to four years.

Benchmark Brent crude, which had been trading above $80 a barrel recently, now hovers around $70 after U.S. sanctions waivers for countries that import heavily from Iran, which accounts for 5 percent of global oil exports.

“For Saudi and other GCC countries, we believe it’s not now the time to be complacent,” Azour said, referring to other Arab oilexporting countries in the Persian Gulf.

The IMF is urging oil-exporters in the region to curb subsidies to

AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File

In this Jan. 22, 2014, file photo, a partially constructed gas refinery at the South Pars gas field is seen on the northern coast of Persian Gulf in Asalouyeh, Iran. Japan, South Korea and other major oil importers welcomed Tuesday the decision by the Trump administration to let them continue to import Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products despite the re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran. reduce spending, expand taxes to boost revenue and narrow the public sector wage bill by attracting foreign investment and encouraging the private sector to create more jobs.

The IMF also warns that at least 25 million new jobs need to be created in the next five years to keep unemployment rates the same across the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Azour said a country like Egypt, where economic growth this year and last exceeded 5 percent, needs to create 700,000 to 1 million new jobs per year to keep it’s unemployment rate from rising. (ap)

meetings sidestepped questions on whether Italy might be hit with a EU fine.

“One thing at a time,” said Mario Centeno, Portugal’s finance minister who heads the so-called eurogroup and had just emerged from talks in Rome with Italy’s economy minister, Giovanni Tria.

Centeno preferred to speak of an overarching concern in Brussels.

“Beyond the rules, sustainability is the heart of the discussion,” Centeno told reporters.

Tria gave no indication Italy would budge on its budget plans to please the EU. Flanking Centeno, Tria said that if avoiding sanctions were the goal, “we would have to make a very violent budget maneuver of fiscal restriction.” That, he argued, “would be suicide for an economy in marked slowdown.”

Italy’s economic growth has been sub-par for years.

There are doubts within Italy, too, about whether the govern-

ment can achieve its economic growth goals with its proposed budget.

An Italian central bank official, deputy director Luigi Federico Signorini, told lawmakers Friday that the government’s growth forecasts for next year are “ambitious.”

The EU expects the Italian economy to grow only 1.2 percent next year, the lowest in the eurozone. The Italian government expects a more optimistic 1.5 percent growth. (ap)

Italian populist leader ‘guarantees’ nation won’t exit euro

ROME - The head of one of Italy’s ruling parties insisted Friday that the country won’t exit the euro currency bloc nor exceed its targeted deficit limit, dismissing the European Union’s worries about the populist government’s budget strategy.

Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, who heads the main party in the five-month old coalition, told foreign correspondents in Rome that he “guarantees” that domestic spending cuts plus economic

growth spurred by public investment will keep the country from overshooting its deficit target for next year, as EU officials fear.

“There’s still a lot to cut,” Di Maio said. “The guarantee we’re giving is that 2.4 percent (of GDP) is the maximum deficit term” Italy will run up next year.

He brushed off concern that Italy might incur EU sanctions if it sticks to its deficit target.

Meanwhile, the head of the 19-member eurozone’s finance

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

5

Sharing the healing power of nature

IMF: Mideast oil producers buoyed by higher prices, for now

However, the rosier outlook for some oil exporters is not consistent across the region. In Iran, the reimposition of U.S. sanctions last week on oil exports is expected to drive up inflation there to more than 40 percent by year’s end.

The findings, which came in the IMF’s new regional outlook report, said the overall fiscal deficit for the Mideast’s oil exporters is projected to decline from around $118 billion last year to $41 billion this year, before narrowing to $3 billion in 2019.

For Saudi Arabia, growth projections remain unchanged despite fallout from the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month. International outrage prompted big name executives and officials to back out from attending a major investment conference in Riyadh after the killing. IMF chief Christine Lagarde was among the high-level participants who pulled out of the summit.

Still, it’s too early to tell what the impact of this could be on the Saudi economy, where the price of oil remains a key determinant, said the IMF’s Mideast and Central Asia director Jihad Azour.

“There are several more important issues that factor in play. The evolution of oil price. The level of export of oil. The spending in government. The pace of reforms,” Azour told The Associated Press.

Bali News

International

Coming together for Palu

Following the devastating natural disasters that occurred in Palu, Sulawesi last month numerous efforts have been made to provide material support and assistance to those affected by the tsunami, earthquake and mudslides.

Although basic necessities and physically rebuilding the area are certainly much needed, attending to the emotional trauma caused by the devastation is equally important.

Forum Sudut Pandang is a youth organization in Palu who use art to reach out to troubled youngsters and with recent events they certainly have their hands full.

Working with art as a means to approach traumatic experiences is a liberating way for people to get back into harmony with themselves and their environment and as Gayatri: “art is a way for people to feel free to express what cannot be expressed otherwise, and this sharing is in itself extremely healing”.

This spirit of sharing through art took a new form last week as Forum Sudut Pandang representatives were invited to Bali to take part in a BEKRAF (creative economy) meeting in Nusa Dua. Although the Palu representatives were in no position to bring any crafts with them to the event, instead they brought stories written by the youth they are working with in Palu that were written on postcards that were displayed at the event.

While in Bali they were also invite to take part in a special fundraiser hosted by Bali Life Studio who offer breath and movement workshops of various kinds for beauty, harmony and togetherness as a form of healing. The fundraiser

IBP/kmb

Forum Sudut Pandang representative sharing about post-disaster situation in Palu involved a heartfelt sharing of traditional Maori instruments played by a visiting Maori artist and cultural advocate who brought the spirit of the pacific islands together for all to experience nature’s medicine.

The evening began with prayers officiated by Balinese priest Ida Pandita Mpu Jaya Rekatenaya and group chanting, followed by Forum Sudut Pandang (www.sudutpandang.org) representative Rahmadiyah Tria Gayatri explaining what they do in Palu, how people they are dealing with the situation there

and what inspires her to keep going.

“Facing such disturbing things can be really challenging, but by helping others it gives me the strength to keep going”.

Everyone then took a small break to casually mingle and share stories with one and other. Bu Tujung Crystal who was in charge of trauma relief for those who were evacuated during the eruption of Mount Agung shared with the Palu delegates about her experience of the powerful way that people come together in times of need. “I don’t

mean to sound harsh, and I know that the situation in Palu is far more dire, but I believe that nature is truly loving and that it is not up to us to understand why such things happen – only to open our hearts to helping those in need”.

The evening continued with the Maori representative opening his heart to everyone and sharing the deeply moving sounds of the natural instruments from his cultural heritage. Both haunting and soothing, the mesmerizing sounds brought healing to all through the

natural elements these instruments carry within them, echoing the majestic power of the natural world and beyond.

The evening of sharing then continued with a DJ set that had everyone on their feet dancing softly to the rhythmic sounds of music from around the world. Although reluctant at first, the Palu delegates eventually joined in the dancing and as one of them shared: “this is the first time I have danced since the disaster – it feels good”. (kmb)

Outbound Tourism Spending from the Gulf is Six Times the Global Average

A new report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) shows that outbound tourism from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – comprising six countries of the Arabian peninsula – has grown strongly in recent years, with international tourism expenditure surpassing USD 60 billion in 2017.

‘The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Outbound Travel Market’, a new report prepared by UNWTO and ETC with the support of Value Retail, examines the fast-growing outbound market of the GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United

Arab Emirates – with an additional focus on the image of Europe as a tourism destination.

It finds that per-capita international tourism spending from the GCC was 6.5 times higher than the global average in 2017, with expenditure estimated to be more than USD 60 billion in 2017, up from USD 40 billion in 2010.

“GCC countries constitute a fast-growing market with the potential to make a significant contribution to European tourism, diversifying demand and promoting new tourism segments”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili upon launching the report.

“The GCC nations remain a growing source market for European destinations, which should themselves capitalize on the potential of a younger, value-driven, well-informed and technologysavvy GCC traveller”, added ETC President Peter de Wilde.

Amongst its key findings, the report states that outbound travel from GCC countries to European destinations has benefited from the unprecedented growth in air travel during the past decade, with Gulf carriers becoming major players in long-haul aviation. Air connectivity between Europe and the GCC has seen exponential growth, providing

easy access to travel between the two regions.a It notes that GCC travellers are mostly young and family-oriented, with large disposable incomes, and looking for high-quality accommodation, food and retail services.

They value Europe’s variety of attractions and landscapes, developed infrastructure and common visa and currency systems, which make multi-destination travel easier.

Europe is seen as offering diversity in experiences as well as opportunities to shop for luxury and designer fashion. Barriers to booking a trip to Europe include safety and security concerns, the

language barrier and the high cost of holidays.

The report concludes with specific recommendations on how to position and market Europe to GCC tourists. It finds that destinations should focus on promoting specific tourism products and develop pan-European themes to attract tourists looking to visit multiple destinations.

The launch of the study will be supported by a webinar providing an overview of prospects in the GCC outbound travel market, insights into the profile and behaviour of GCC travellers, and appropriate targeted marketing strategies and messages for GCC consumers. (r)

6

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

W

International

International

RLD

Still alive in Paradise after fire, but then what?

CHICO - Some plan to travel far away, while others are determined to rebuild their lives here, but most of the survivors of the deadly fire that ravaged the California town of Paradise are still in shock.

“For now, I’m so grateful to be here alive with my family,” said Diane Mullin, who escaped the flames but couldn’t hold back her tears.

Elizabeth Gorman, who was among tens of thousands of people who fled the blaze, said her town was now “down to nothing.”

“There’s whole neighborhoods that are just gone... streets, rows and rows and rows. My daughter’s house, her mother-in-law and husband’s house... every house on the street is just gone,” said Gorman, who is in her 50s. “It’s horrible.”

The so-called Camp Fire has now killed at least 42 people, making the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Like many others, Gorman said she still has no idea what might remain of her house because the authorities have issued evacuation orders and barred locals from trying to return to the town.

Some stayed with friends and family elsewhere, others in hotels -- which are completely booked for miles (kilometers).

The less fortunate are reduced to sleeping in churches and schools turned into emergency shelters.

“There’s close to 200 people sleeping here, and then throughout the day, a lot more coming to get information and to eat, or for a warm place to stay for a while,” said Paul Stanbrook, a supervisor from the

American Red Cross, which manages the center established in the Neighborhood Church of Chico.

“We’re doing sheltering and also assisting folks that are coming in looking for information... missing persons, help services. We’re feeding people, everyone in the community,” he said.

Behind Stanbrook, who came from North Carolina, a dozen evacuees finish their breakfast on camping tables, looking absentmindedly at a television set.

Mullin, who is one of them, wants to stay positive.

- ‘It’s freedom’ -

“We will rebuild, one step at a time. We will rebuild our home.

We will be a part of rebuilding that town, because it’s a beautiful town,” Mullin said.

“We just have to count our blessings... and not count the losses right now,” she said.

Not far away, 64-year-old retiree Glenn Simmons -- who sleeps in his car for lack of space in the shelter -- doesn’t know what comes next.

“I’m here waiting for the next thing. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. It burned a lot of irreplaceable things. I had a lot of mementos, artwork,” he said.

“It really hurts inside, ‘cause I’m an artist, I lost 50-plus years of artwork, my art. I managed to save

Josh Edelson / AFP

A halloween decoration remains at a burned home after the Camp fire tore through the region in Paradise, California on November 12, 2018. some slides, early work, and prints of other things, but everything else is gone,” Simmons said.

What will he do in the coming days?

“Apply for government ser-

vices, stay around here. The building here is full, so I’m sitting in my car right now, which is better than nothing... I was planning on moving out of state, or to southern California... Oregon? I don’t

know,” he said.

“Everything has burned up, I’ve got my clothes, a backpack, and that’s pretty much it. It’s freedom, not the kind of freedom you would seek, but it’s here though.” (afp)

Shrinking Sea of Galilee has some hoping for a miracle

JACK GUEZ / AFP

A picture taken on October 8, 2018, in Kibbutz Ein-Gev, shows the decline in the level of water in the Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, has been shrinking for years, mainly due to overuse, and environmentalists are raising the alarm.

EIG GEV - It was not so long ago when swimmers at Ein Gev would lay out their towels in the grass at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.

Today, they put up their parasols 100 metres (yards) further down, on a sandy beach that has appeared due to the shrinking of the iconic body of water.

“Every time we come we feel an ache in our hearts,” said Yael Lichi, 47, who has been visiting the famous lake with her family for 15 years.

“The lake is a symbol in Israel.

Whenever there is a drought, it is the first thing we talk about.”

In front of Lichi, wooden boats with Christian pilgrims aboard navigate the calm waters, among groups

from across the world that visit.

The Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, has been shrinking for years, mainly due to overuse, and environmentalists are raising the alarm.

Plans are being devised to resuscitate the freshwater body known to Israelis as the Kinneret and to some as Lake Tiberias.

For Israel, the lake is vital, having long been the country’s main source of water. Israeli newspaper Haaretz provides its water level daily on its back page.

Its shrinking has been a source of deep concern. When two islands appeared recently due to falling water levels, it received widespread attention in the Israeli media.

Since 2013 “we are below the low red line” beyond which “salinity rises, fish have difficulty surviving and vegetation is affected,” said Amir Givati, hydrologist at Israel’s water authority.

The level is only around 20 centimetres (less than eight inches) above the record low plumbed in 2001 -- except, at that time, 400 million cubic metres (14.1 billion cubic feet) a year were pumped out for irrigation.

“This year, we only pumped 20 million cubic metres, but the lake is in a very bad state,” said Givati.

Added to that is the 50 million cubic metres Israel sends to neighbouring Jordan as part of peace agreements. (afp)

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

11

Journey to the afterlife: Indonesia’s Toraja live among the dead Martha Kande’s family lived with her greying, shrivelled corpse at their home in Indonesia for seven months, as they prepared an elaborate funeral that is central to the Toraja people’s centuriesold death rituals.

“We keep the body in a coffin at home,” Meyske Latuihamallo, the 81-year-old woman’s granddaughter, told AFP. “But it’s kept open before they are buried because we see them as sick so they are brought food and drink every day.”

Torajans -- an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island -- have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative.

Traditionally the embalming process involved sour vinegar and tea leaves but these days families usually inject a formaldehyde solution into the corpse. “After a week, there’s no odour anymore”, local tourist guide Lisa Saba Palloan told AFP. It may seem a ghoulish practice to some: living side-by-side with an embalmed body for months -- or even years -- before paying homage in a ritualistic display of blood and guts.

But the Toraja believe that a person is only dead -- and their soul freed -- after an elaborate funeral known as “Rambu Solo”.

hierarchy.

They sit alongside wooden dolls in traditional clothing, representing deceased nobility, while some bodies are kept in coffins that hang from steep cliffs -- owing to limited space. “These are the customs of our ancestors,” said Kande’s 72-year-old nephew Johanes Singkali.

“We maintain them to preserve these traditions and keep them sacred from outside influences.” Although most Torajans are Christian -- a product of Dutch colonialism -- they have held onto earlier traditions rooted in animistic beliefs.

The more elaborate a funeral the more likely the person’s spirit will reach the level of the gods. But it comes at a cost.

As many as 100 buffalo could be slaughtered for a noble person, while as few as eight will suffice for a middle-class Torajan.

Funerals can set a family back up to two billion rupiah ($133,000) -- an extravagant amount in a country where more than half the population live on less than $5.50 a day, according to the World Bank.

“We used to be animists, so we buried people with boars and buffalos to offer the spirits on the way to the afterlife,” Singkali said.

“It costs a lot and there are a lot of preparations while all the relatives living outside Toraja must come too.”

- ‘Preserve tradition’ -

Hundreds gathered in La’Bo village for Kande’s spiritual send-off, along with dozens of picture-snapping tourists. Her body was put into a red coffin -- in the form of a traditional, boat-shaped house -- which was then placed in front of her home.

Relatives clad in black dragged dozens of pigs into the centre of the village for slaughter as family members danced.

Wild boars howled and blood poured from a sacrificial buffalo’s throat as Kande’s family prepared her mummified body for the afterlife.

Following the five-day ceremony, the octogenarian was placed in one of the many burial caves scattered around the mountainous region, where skeletal remains are arranged by social

- ‘Time of celebration’ -

At midday, a prized buffalo was led out onto a blue tarpaulin where its throat was slit -- confirming the woman’s death -- and the carcass butchered for a big dinner to follow.

Finally Kande’s coffin was carried around the neighbourhood in a symbolic goodbye. It’s not for the squeamish, but American visitor Ellie Eshleman took a philosophical view. “I am passionate about death,” the 29-year-old said.

“I would like to help restore it to its spiritual place in the Western world. So, I came here to see their death customs and how it can be a time of celebration.”

- Death tourism -

The Indonesian government is trying to promote Torajan death rituals as part of ambitious plans to boost tourism across the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago. While the Toraja region draws tens of thousands of tourists annually, it is a fraction of the millions who descend on holiday hotspot Bali.

Growing Toraja tourism faces several hurdles, although opposition from locals does not appear to be among them.

Rather, poor infrastructure and the absence of a major airport in the highland region make travel difficult.

Furthermore, it is difficult to plan a trip to see a Rambu Solo ceremony because dates can change as families struggle to save enough money for one.

But many visitors are still willing to take a chance and drive for hours from the nearest major airport to see one of the world’s most unique funeral rites. “Toraja is a piece of heaven on earth,” said Harli Patriatno, North Toraja’s head of culture and tourism.

“Its natural beauty combined with the Toraja people’s spiritualism and funeral rites is extraordinary.” (afp)

GOH Chai Hin / AFP

This picture taken on September 12, 2018 shows the people of Toraja carrying a coffin during a funeral ceremony known as “Rambu Solo” in Londa in Tana Toraja regency. Torajans -- an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island -- have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative. But the Toraja believe that a person is only dead -- and their soul freed -- after an elaborate funeral known as “Rambu Solo”.

10

Destination

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Djokovic crushes Isner in ATP Finals opener

LONDON - Novak Djokovic sent out a warning to his rivals at the ATP Finals on Monday, brushing aside big-serving John Isner 6-4, 6-3 to launch his bid for a recordequalling sixth ATP Finals title in style.

Bajra Sandhi Monument Central Landmark in Denpasar DENPASAR - Bajra Sandhi Monument is monument of Balinese People Struggle . This Monument is recognized by the name of Bajra Sandhi because it’s form is looking like Bajra or Genta or bell used by all Hindu Priest in reading off Weda holy sentence (mantra) at religious ceremony. Bajra Sandhi Monument is built in the year 1987 and it is opened by president of Megawati Sukarno Putri on 14 June 2003.

The purpose of Bajra Sandhi Monument is to immortalize the soul and spirit of Balinese People struggle, at one blow dig, looking after, developing and also preserve the culture of Bali to be bequeathed to a router generation as advancing capital stroke tread a world of loaded progressively with the challenge and resistance.

The existence of physical building is strongly relating to the

meaning of Hinduism philosophy, namely Yoni colossus. Bajra Sandhi Monument is likely colossus device meanwhile the building base as yoni. From other side, the Yoni colossus is also describing the story of twiddling Mandhara Giri at Ksirarnawa which is taken away from passage of Adi Parwa (Hindu’s Book). Bajra Sandhi Monument in its development, it has been opened for visitor and to be places of interest or tourist destination in Bali in particular when visiting Denpasar town. You may also join Bali Denpasar City Tour Package to visit this beautiful place.

There are three floors inside.

The ground level lets you admire the typical Balinese architectural features applied to the overall structure, while the second floor is where most of the diagrams and dioramas that depict the Balinese

people’s pre-history and history are shown. The last upper level provides you with soaring views over the green square and Denpasar’s cityscape afield. Most recently in August 2016, the ground space was turned into the IAM Bali Interactive 3D trick art museum space, full of fun murals that are great for fun pics. The monument itself sits on a 4,900sqm plot within the vast 14.4Ha grounds of flat green lawns, gardens and palms of the square. Denpasar residents visit the square in droves over the weekends, particularly during the ‘car-free’ Sundays that enables joggers and cyclists to best enjoy the surrounds of the public space.

Constructed in 1981 and opened in 2003, the Bajra Sandhi Monument is a popular itinerary that is almost always featured on Denpasar city tours. (IBP/net)

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Glyn KIRK / AFP

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts after breaking serve to go 4-3 in the second set against US player John Isner during their men’s singles round-robin match on day two of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London on November 12, 2018.

Earlier, in the same Guga Kuerten group, Alexander Zverev made it six consecutive wins against Marin Cilic in a contest at London’s O2 Arena featuring scores of unforced errors.

World number one Djokovic, though, was playing a different game, appearing little troubled by the howitzers coming off the giant Isner’s racquet -- breaking his opponent three times and not conceding a single break point on his own serve.

In stark contrast to second seed Roger Federer, who produced an error-strewn performance in defeat to Kei Nishikori on Sunday, Djokovic hit just six unforced errors and won 86 percent of points on his serve, making a mockery of the apparent challenging nature of the playing surface.

“The match was great, obviously,” said the 31-year-old. “I had three breaks of serve of John which is sometimes mission impossible but I managed to be at the right place at the right time.

“I held serve well, I backed it up from the baseline, I played very solid and didn’t give him many opportunities.”

Speaking about the court conditions, he said: “It takes a little bit of time really to get yourself adjusted to the surface... it takes a lot of rotation, takes a lot of spin.

When you serve well, also it accelerates through the court.”

With Cristiano Ronaldo watching on, the top seed broke Isner in the fifth game of the first set to establish a stranglehold and never looked like allowing the American eighth seed back into the contest, breaking twice more in the second set to win in 73 minutes.

The Serb is a red-hot favourite to draw level on six titles at the season

finale with Federer, who faces an uphill task to reach the semi-finals after his loss in his first round-robin match.

Djokovic, who replaced the injured Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings last week, has stormed up the charts this year following elbow surgery and a period of indifferent form, winning Wimbledon and the US Open along the way.

Since the start of Wimbledon he has now won 32 out of 34 matches.

- Zverev triumphs Earlier, Zverev kept his nerve at the key moments to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), recovering from a break down in each set.

The 30-year-old Cilic, who has a reputation for faltering under intense pressure, broke first but the German hit back, going on to edge the tie-break.

In the second set, the Croatian again drew first blood but third-seed Zverev, 21, responded immediately and dominated the tie-break to seal the match.

There were a total of 78 unforced errors in the contest -- with Australian Open finalist Cilic hitting 46 of those -- as both players struggled to adapt to the court conditions.

“The court is difficult,” said Zverev.

“The court is very fast. And it’s very high-bouncing as well. So, it’s more difficult than in other tournaments, so everybody has to kind of find their rhythm in the first match. “ The ATP Finals are contested by the eight players who have accumulated the most ranking points over the season and is in a round-robin format, with the best four players reaching the semifinals. (afp)

Williams sparks Clippers over Warriors in overtime upset

LOS ANGELES - Lou Williams scored 25 points from the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers upset the league-leading Golden State Warriors 121-116 in a wild overtime thriller at the Staples Center on Monday. Williams reeled off 10 of his points in overtime to secure victory after the Clippers squandered a 14-point fourth quarter lead before digging in for the win.

The 32-year-old veteran was supported by 23 points from the bench by Montrezl Harrell as the Clippers improved to 8-5 in the Western Conference standings.

The Warriors remain on top of the West after suffering only their third loss of the season. The NBA champions are 11-3 following

the defeat. Kevin Durant led the scoring with 33 points while Klay Thompson had 31, including five three-pointers.

The Warriors had trailed for much of the game, and appeared to be sliding toward a loss before a determined fourth quarter rally transformed the contest.

A Williams three-pointer had put the Clippers ahead by 101-87 with 6min 36 remaining before the Warriors came roaring back.

Thompson tied the game at 106-106 with 1:27 left on the clock but neither side were able to take a decisive advantage, sending the game into overtime.

Williams then took over with 10 points as the Clippers completed a

morale-boosting victory. Earlier Monday, the Warriors’ loss was mirrored by a defeat for their Eastern Conference counterparts, the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors suffered only their second defeat of the season in a 126-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in Toronto.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead a superb all-round offensive performance from the Pelicans, who saw four starters crack double digits.

New Orleans improved to 7-6 with the win, which was another sign the Pelicans are back on track after a six-game losing streak which jolted their early season progress. (afp)

Copyright 2018 NBAE Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Lou Williams #23 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on November 12, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Injured Reus sits out Germany training ahead of Russia friendly

FA probe Guardiola’s referee remarks - reports

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

This picture shows a World Cup trophy and two stars in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 12, 2018, as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Nations League football match against the Netherlands and a friendly football match against Uruguay.

Qatar considering offers to host World Cup teams abroad: organiser

Qatar is considering offers from other countries to host teams during the 2022 World Cup, but no decision has been taken yet, the head of the organising committee told AFP on Monday. Iran has recently offered to host teams who will play in tiny Qatar in the World Cup which starts in just over four years time.

When asked whether teams could be based in Iran, chief organiser Hassan Al Thawadi said Qatar had received “numerous proposals from countries with regard to hosting teams” around the time of the tournament.

“This is part of the operational plan, but obviously it will have to be done with FIFA,” he said. “Nothing is decided on this matter yet and it remains under discussion.”

Any move to accept Iran’s offer would provide a major boost for the Islamic Republic at a time when the US is trying to isolate the country internationally. It could also prove controversial in the Gulf.

Since 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have imposed a sweeping embargo on Qatar, with its onetime allies accusing it of seeking closer ties with Iran and of supporting radical Islamist groups.

Qatar denies the charges, accusing its neighbours of seeking regime change.

Al Thawadi said he hoped Qatar’s neighbours would lift a ban on their citizens visiting Qatar in time for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 21, 2022. The country’s original pitch in its bid to host the tournament included plans to use facilities elsewhere in the Gulf.

“I hope the blockading nations can see the value of this major tournament and can allow for their people to benefit from this tournament,” he said.

Asked about whether Qatar was prepared to increase the number of teams at the Qatar World Cup to 48, as mooted by FIFA, Al Thawadi said he was still planning for the usual figure of 32.

“Our preparations right now are for 32 teams, the current format. All the preparations are ongoing based

on that,” he said.

“There’s a feasibility study undertaken right now for a 48-team competition and then a decision will be taken both

by FIFA and ourselves as a host nation,” he added.

Accommodating another 16 teams would vastly complicate Qatar ’s task in preparing for the World Cup, which was awarded to the tiny desert state in 2010.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week all but wrote off the chances of a 48-team tournament in 2022, saying it would be “a difficult challenge”. (afp)

The Football Association is seeking an explanation from Pep Guardiola regarding his comments about referee Anthony Taylor prior to last weekend’s Manchester derby, British media reported Monday Manchester City boss Guardiola did not appear to say anything controversial or critical about the official but the FA, English football’s governing body has made it clear previously it would prefer managers not to make any public comment at all about referees.

Taylor, hails from the Manchester suburb of Wythenshawe, near Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground. That led some City fans to question his impartiality ahead of Sunday’s match at the Etihad Stadium.

But the Premier League have long been happy happy to let Altrincham fan

Taylor handle some of the division’s biggest games.

“He is going to try to do the best job, like we try as managers and football players,” said Guardiola when asked about the referee at his pre-match press conference “Mr Taylor is going to try to make a good time. I don’t think too much. The important thing is to focus on our game, of course knowing which opponent we are going to face, and that’s all.

“Hopefully they can make good decisions for both sides and (it will) be a good game -- all England, all parts of Europe are going to watch us, that is the most important pleasure. “The referee doesn’t want to make a mistake but he knows everybody around the world is going to watch him.

He doesn’t want to make mistakes, that is pretty sure.

“But if he is a fan of United or City? Anybody can be a fan of whoever he wants. No problem.”

None of Taylor’s decisions proved controversial in a match City, the reigning Premier League champions, won 3-1 to return to the top of the table. (afp) Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures during the English Premier League football match b e tween M a n chester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on Novemb e r 11 , 2018.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus was forced to sit out with a foot injury as Germany were put through their paces in training Tuesday ahead of an upcoming friendly against Russia.

The 29-year-old playmaker bruised his foot on his way to scoring a brace for Dortmund in a 3-2 Bundesliga win over defending champions Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Reus has a history of sitting out Germany duty due to injury.

Torn ankle ligaments ruled him out of their 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil and a groin injury sidelined him for Euro 2016 in France.

For the match against 2018 World Cup hosts Russia, Germany coach Joachim Loew is already without Schalke striker Mark Uth, who has a leg injury, and Paris Saint-Germain winger Julian Draxler, who drops out because of a family bereavement.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos is expected to join the squad later in the week for next Monday’s Nations League home match against the Netherlands in Gelsenkirchen, which the Germans must win to stay in Group One. (afp)

BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP

Rayo Vallecano’s Spanish goalkeeper Alberto Garcia (L) prepares to block a shot on goal by Barcelona’s Brazilian midfielder Rafinha during the Spanish league football match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid on November 3, 2018.

Brazil’s Tite calls up Rafinha, Augusto and Sandro for friendlies

Brazil coach Tite was forced into some late changes to the squad that will face Uruguay and Cameroon in friendlies in England after Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho and Real Madrid pair Marcelo and Casemiro pulled out through injury.

Tite called up Barcelona midfielder Rafinha Alcantara on Monday to replace Casemiro, who is suffering from a sprained ankle that could sideline him for several weeks. He also added Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto and Juventus full-back Alex Sandro.

Coutinho’s absence was expected after Barca announced Thursday

he had a hamstring problem that would keep him out for two weeks.

Tite had been hoping to call upon Marcelo but the Real leftback hasn’t recovered yet from a thigh problem suffered two weeks ago in the clasico, which the Madrid side lost 5-1 against their bitter rivals from Barcelona.

Brazil’s football federation released a statement saying Tite had been “waiting to see if he would recover” but after Marcelo missed Real’s 4-2 win over Celta Vigo at the weekend it was decided he wouldn’t be fit.

Brazil will play Uruguay at

Arsenal’s Emirates stadium on Friday before taking on Cameroon in Milton Keynes four days later.

It will be their last two matches of the year having recorded four straight friendly victories since exiting the World Cup in Russia at the quarter-final stage, beaten 2-1

by Belgium.

Brazil beat the United States 2-0, El Salvador 5-0, Saudi Arabia 2-0 and Argentina 1-0 in their last four matches.

The side is building towards the Copa America next year, which it will host from June 14 to July 7. (afp)

9

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Injured Reus sits out Germany training ahead of Russia friendly

FA probe Guardiola’s referee remarks - reports

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

This picture shows a World Cup trophy and two stars in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 12, 2018, as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Nations League football match against the Netherlands and a friendly football match against Uruguay.

Qatar considering offers to host World Cup teams abroad: organiser

Qatar is considering offers from other countries to host teams during the 2022 World Cup, but no decision has been taken yet, the head of the organising committee told AFP on Monday. Iran has recently offered to host teams who will play in tiny Qatar in the World Cup which starts in just over four years time.

When asked whether teams could be based in Iran, chief organiser Hassan Al Thawadi said Qatar had received “numerous proposals from countries with regard to hosting teams” around the time of the tournament.

“This is part of the operational plan, but obviously it will have to be done with FIFA,” he said. “Nothing is decided on this matter yet and it remains under discussion.”

Any move to accept Iran’s offer would provide a major boost for the Islamic Republic at a time when the US is trying to isolate the country internationally. It could also prove controversial in the Gulf.

Since 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have imposed a sweeping embargo on Qatar, with its onetime allies accusing it of seeking closer ties with Iran and of supporting radical Islamist groups.

Qatar denies the charges, accusing its neighbours of seeking regime change.

Al Thawadi said he hoped Qatar’s neighbours would lift a ban on their citizens visiting Qatar in time for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 21, 2022. The country’s original pitch in its bid to host the tournament included plans to use facilities elsewhere in the Gulf.

“I hope the blockading nations can see the value of this major tournament and can allow for their people to benefit from this tournament,” he said.

Asked about whether Qatar was prepared to increase the number of teams at the Qatar World Cup to 48, as mooted by FIFA, Al Thawadi said he was still planning for the usual figure of 32.

“Our preparations right now are for 32 teams, the current format. All the preparations are ongoing based

on that,” he said.

“There’s a feasibility study undertaken right now for a 48-team competition and then a decision will be taken both

by FIFA and ourselves as a host nation,” he added.

Accommodating another 16 teams would vastly complicate Qatar ’s task in preparing for the World Cup, which was awarded to the tiny desert state in 2010.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week all but wrote off the chances of a 48-team tournament in 2022, saying it would be “a difficult challenge”. (afp)

The Football Association is seeking an explanation from Pep Guardiola regarding his comments about referee Anthony Taylor prior to last weekend’s Manchester derby, British media reported Monday Manchester City boss Guardiola did not appear to say anything controversial or critical about the official but the FA, English football’s governing body has made it clear previously it would prefer managers not to make any public comment at all about referees.

Taylor, hails from the Manchester suburb of Wythenshawe, near Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground. That led some City fans to question his impartiality ahead of Sunday’s match at the Etihad Stadium.

But the Premier League have long been happy happy to let Altrincham fan

Taylor handle some of the division’s biggest games.

“He is going to try to do the best job, like we try as managers and football players,” said Guardiola when asked about the referee at his pre-match press conference “Mr Taylor is going to try to make a good time. I don’t think too much. The important thing is to focus on our game, of course knowing which opponent we are going to face, and that’s all.

“Hopefully they can make good decisions for both sides and (it will) be a good game -- all England, all parts of Europe are going to watch us, that is the most important pleasure. “The referee doesn’t want to make a mistake but he knows everybody around the world is going to watch him.

He doesn’t want to make mistakes, that is pretty sure.

“But if he is a fan of United or City? Anybody can be a fan of whoever he wants. No problem.”

None of Taylor’s decisions proved controversial in a match City, the reigning Premier League champions, won 3-1 to return to the top of the table. (afp) Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures during the English Premier League football match b e tween M a n chester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on Novemb e r 11 , 2018.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus was forced to sit out with a foot injury as Germany were put through their paces in training Tuesday ahead of an upcoming friendly against Russia.

The 29-year-old playmaker bruised his foot on his way to scoring a brace for Dortmund in a 3-2 Bundesliga win over defending champions Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Reus has a history of sitting out Germany duty due to injury.

Torn ankle ligaments ruled him out of their 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil and a groin injury sidelined him for Euro 2016 in France.

For the match against 2018 World Cup hosts Russia, Germany coach Joachim Loew is already without Schalke striker Mark Uth, who has a leg injury, and Paris Saint-Germain winger Julian Draxler, who drops out because of a family bereavement.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos is expected to join the squad later in the week for next Monday’s Nations League home match against the Netherlands in Gelsenkirchen, which the Germans must win to stay in Group One. (afp)

BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP

Rayo Vallecano’s Spanish goalkeeper Alberto Garcia (L) prepares to block a shot on goal by Barcelona’s Brazilian midfielder Rafinha during the Spanish league football match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid on November 3, 2018.

Brazil’s Tite calls up Rafinha, Augusto and Sandro for friendlies

Brazil coach Tite was forced into some late changes to the squad that will face Uruguay and Cameroon in friendlies in England after Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho and Real Madrid pair Marcelo and Casemiro pulled out through injury.

Tite called up Barcelona midfielder Rafinha Alcantara on Monday to replace Casemiro, who is suffering from a sprained ankle that could sideline him for several weeks. He also added Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto and Juventus full-back Alex Sandro.

Coutinho’s absence was expected after Barca announced Thursday

he had a hamstring problem that would keep him out for two weeks.

Tite had been hoping to call upon Marcelo but the Real leftback hasn’t recovered yet from a thigh problem suffered two weeks ago in the clasico, which the Madrid side lost 5-1 against their bitter rivals from Barcelona.

Brazil’s football federation released a statement saying Tite had been “waiting to see if he would recover” but after Marcelo missed Real’s 4-2 win over Celta Vigo at the weekend it was decided he wouldn’t be fit.

Brazil will play Uruguay at

Arsenal’s Emirates stadium on Friday before taking on Cameroon in Milton Keynes four days later.

It will be their last two matches of the year having recorded four straight friendly victories since exiting the World Cup in Russia at the quarter-final stage, beaten 2-1

by Belgium.

Brazil beat the United States 2-0, El Salvador 5-0, Saudi Arabia 2-0 and Argentina 1-0 in their last four matches.

The side is building towards the Copa America next year, which it will host from June 14 to July 7. (afp)

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Djokovic crushes Isner in ATP Finals opener

LONDON - Novak Djokovic sent out a warning to his rivals at the ATP Finals on Monday, brushing aside big-serving John Isner 6-4, 6-3 to launch his bid for a recordequalling sixth ATP Finals title in style.

Bajra Sandhi Monument Central Landmark in Denpasar DENPASAR - Bajra Sandhi Monument is monument of Balinese People Struggle . This Monument is recognized by the name of Bajra Sandhi because it’s form is looking like Bajra or Genta or bell used by all Hindu Priest in reading off Weda holy sentence (mantra) at religious ceremony. Bajra Sandhi Monument is built in the year 1987 and it is opened by president of Megawati Sukarno Putri on 14 June 2003.

The purpose of Bajra Sandhi Monument is to immortalize the soul and spirit of Balinese People struggle, at one blow dig, looking after, developing and also preserve the culture of Bali to be bequeathed to a router generation as advancing capital stroke tread a world of loaded progressively with the challenge and resistance.

The existence of physical building is strongly relating to the

meaning of Hinduism philosophy, namely Yoni colossus. Bajra Sandhi Monument is likely colossus device meanwhile the building base as yoni. From other side, the Yoni colossus is also describing the story of twiddling Mandhara Giri at Ksirarnawa which is taken away from passage of Adi Parwa (Hindu’s Book). Bajra Sandhi Monument in its development, it has been opened for visitor and to be places of interest or tourist destination in Bali in particular when visiting Denpasar town. You may also join Bali Denpasar City Tour Package to visit this beautiful place.

There are three floors inside.

The ground level lets you admire the typical Balinese architectural features applied to the overall structure, while the second floor is where most of the diagrams and dioramas that depict the Balinese

people’s pre-history and history are shown. The last upper level provides you with soaring views over the green square and Denpasar’s cityscape afield. Most recently in August 2016, the ground space was turned into the IAM Bali Interactive 3D trick art museum space, full of fun murals that are great for fun pics. The monument itself sits on a 4,900sqm plot within the vast 14.4Ha grounds of flat green lawns, gardens and palms of the square. Denpasar residents visit the square in droves over the weekends, particularly during the ‘car-free’ Sundays that enables joggers and cyclists to best enjoy the surrounds of the public space.

Constructed in 1981 and opened in 2003, the Bajra Sandhi Monument is a popular itinerary that is almost always featured on Denpasar city tours. (IBP/net)

Place Your Add Here

It is for Job Vacancy, Property, Selling or Buying Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500

Glyn KIRK / AFP

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts after breaking serve to go 4-3 in the second set against US player John Isner during their men’s singles round-robin match on day two of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London on November 12, 2018.

Earlier, in the same Guga Kuerten group, Alexander Zverev made it six consecutive wins against Marin Cilic in a contest at London’s O2 Arena featuring scores of unforced errors.

World number one Djokovic, though, was playing a different game, appearing little troubled by the howitzers coming off the giant Isner’s racquet -- breaking his opponent three times and not conceding a single break point on his own serve.

In stark contrast to second seed Roger Federer, who produced an error-strewn performance in defeat to Kei Nishikori on Sunday, Djokovic hit just six unforced errors and won 86 percent of points on his serve, making a mockery of the apparent challenging nature of the playing surface.

“The match was great, obviously,” said the 31-year-old. “I had three breaks of serve of John which is sometimes mission impossible but I managed to be at the right place at the right time.

“I held serve well, I backed it up from the baseline, I played very solid and didn’t give him many opportunities.”

Speaking about the court conditions, he said: “It takes a little bit of time really to get yourself adjusted to the surface... it takes a lot of rotation, takes a lot of spin.

When you serve well, also it accelerates through the court.”

With Cristiano Ronaldo watching on, the top seed broke Isner in the fifth game of the first set to establish a stranglehold and never looked like allowing the American eighth seed back into the contest, breaking twice more in the second set to win in 73 minutes.

The Serb is a red-hot favourite to draw level on six titles at the season

finale with Federer, who faces an uphill task to reach the semi-finals after his loss in his first round-robin match.

Djokovic, who replaced the injured Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings last week, has stormed up the charts this year following elbow surgery and a period of indifferent form, winning Wimbledon and the US Open along the way.

Since the start of Wimbledon he has now won 32 out of 34 matches.

- Zverev triumphs Earlier, Zverev kept his nerve at the key moments to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), recovering from a break down in each set.

The 30-year-old Cilic, who has a reputation for faltering under intense pressure, broke first but the German hit back, going on to edge the tie-break.

In the second set, the Croatian again drew first blood but third-seed Zverev, 21, responded immediately and dominated the tie-break to seal the match.

There were a total of 78 unforced errors in the contest -- with Australian Open finalist Cilic hitting 46 of those -- as both players struggled to adapt to the court conditions.

“The court is difficult,” said Zverev.

“The court is very fast. And it’s very high-bouncing as well. So, it’s more difficult than in other tournaments, so everybody has to kind of find their rhythm in the first match. “ The ATP Finals are contested by the eight players who have accumulated the most ranking points over the season and is in a round-robin format, with the best four players reaching the semifinals. (afp)

Williams sparks Clippers over Warriors in overtime upset

LOS ANGELES - Lou Williams scored 25 points from the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers upset the league-leading Golden State Warriors 121-116 in a wild overtime thriller at the Staples Center on Monday. Williams reeled off 10 of his points in overtime to secure victory after the Clippers squandered a 14-point fourth quarter lead before digging in for the win.

The 32-year-old veteran was supported by 23 points from the bench by Montrezl Harrell as the Clippers improved to 8-5 in the Western Conference standings.

The Warriors remain on top of the West after suffering only their third loss of the season. The NBA champions are 11-3 following

the defeat. Kevin Durant led the scoring with 33 points while Klay Thompson had 31, including five three-pointers.

The Warriors had trailed for much of the game, and appeared to be sliding toward a loss before a determined fourth quarter rally transformed the contest.

A Williams three-pointer had put the Clippers ahead by 101-87 with 6min 36 remaining before the Warriors came roaring back.

Thompson tied the game at 106-106 with 1:27 left on the clock but neither side were able to take a decisive advantage, sending the game into overtime.

Williams then took over with 10 points as the Clippers completed a

morale-boosting victory. Earlier Monday, the Warriors’ loss was mirrored by a defeat for their Eastern Conference counterparts, the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors suffered only their second defeat of the season in a 126-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in Toronto.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead a superb all-round offensive performance from the Pelicans, who saw four starters crack double digits.

New Orleans improved to 7-6 with the win, which was another sign the Pelicans are back on track after a six-game losing streak which jolted their early season progress. (afp)

Copyright 2018 NBAE Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Lou Williams #23 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on November 12, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.

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RLD

Still alive in Paradise after fire, but then what?

CHICO - Some plan to travel far away, while others are determined to rebuild their lives here, but most of the survivors of the deadly fire that ravaged the California town of Paradise are still in shock.

“For now, I’m so grateful to be here alive with my family,” said Diane Mullin, who escaped the flames but couldn’t hold back her tears.

Elizabeth Gorman, who was among tens of thousands of people who fled the blaze, said her town was now “down to nothing.”

“There’s whole neighborhoods that are just gone... streets, rows and rows and rows. My daughter’s house, her mother-in-law and husband’s house... every house on the street is just gone,” said Gorman, who is in her 50s. “It’s horrible.”

The so-called Camp Fire has now killed at least 42 people, making the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Like many others, Gorman said she still has no idea what might remain of her house because the authorities have issued evacuation orders and barred locals from trying to return to the town.

Some stayed with friends and family elsewhere, others in hotels -- which are completely booked for miles (kilometers).

The less fortunate are reduced to sleeping in churches and schools turned into emergency shelters.

“There’s close to 200 people sleeping here, and then throughout the day, a lot more coming to get information and to eat, or for a warm place to stay for a while,” said Paul Stanbrook, a supervisor from the

American Red Cross, which manages the center established in the Neighborhood Church of Chico.

“We’re doing sheltering and also assisting folks that are coming in looking for information... missing persons, help services. We’re feeding people, everyone in the community,” he said.

Behind Stanbrook, who came from North Carolina, a dozen evacuees finish their breakfast on camping tables, looking absentmindedly at a television set.

Mullin, who is one of them, wants to stay positive.

- ‘It’s freedom’ -

“We will rebuild, one step at a time. We will rebuild our home.

We will be a part of rebuilding that town, because it’s a beautiful town,” Mullin said.

“We just have to count our blessings... and not count the losses right now,” she said.

Not far away, 64-year-old retiree Glenn Simmons -- who sleeps in his car for lack of space in the shelter -- doesn’t know what comes next.

“I’m here waiting for the next thing. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. It burned a lot of irreplaceable things. I had a lot of mementos, artwork,” he said.

“It really hurts inside, ‘cause I’m an artist, I lost 50-plus years of artwork, my art. I managed to save

Josh Edelson / AFP

A halloween decoration remains at a burned home after the Camp fire tore through the region in Paradise, California on November 12, 2018. some slides, early work, and prints of other things, but everything else is gone,” Simmons said.

What will he do in the coming days?

“Apply for government ser-

vices, stay around here. The building here is full, so I’m sitting in my car right now, which is better than nothing... I was planning on moving out of state, or to southern California... Oregon? I don’t

know,” he said.

“Everything has burned up, I’ve got my clothes, a backpack, and that’s pretty much it. It’s freedom, not the kind of freedom you would seek, but it’s here though.” (afp)

Shrinking Sea of Galilee has some hoping for a miracle

JACK GUEZ / AFP

A picture taken on October 8, 2018, in Kibbutz Ein-Gev, shows the decline in the level of water in the Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, has been shrinking for years, mainly due to overuse, and environmentalists are raising the alarm.

EIG GEV - It was not so long ago when swimmers at Ein Gev would lay out their towels in the grass at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.

Today, they put up their parasols 100 metres (yards) further down, on a sandy beach that has appeared due to the shrinking of the iconic body of water.

“Every time we come we feel an ache in our hearts,” said Yael Lichi, 47, who has been visiting the famous lake with her family for 15 years.

“The lake is a symbol in Israel.

Whenever there is a drought, it is the first thing we talk about.”

In front of Lichi, wooden boats with Christian pilgrims aboard navigate the calm waters, among groups

from across the world that visit.

The Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, has been shrinking for years, mainly due to overuse, and environmentalists are raising the alarm.

Plans are being devised to resuscitate the freshwater body known to Israelis as the Kinneret and to some as Lake Tiberias.

For Israel, the lake is vital, having long been the country’s main source of water. Israeli newspaper Haaretz provides its water level daily on its back page.

Its shrinking has been a source of deep concern. When two islands appeared recently due to falling water levels, it received widespread attention in the Israeli media.

Since 2013 “we are below the low red line” beyond which “salinity rises, fish have difficulty surviving and vegetation is affected,” said Amir Givati, hydrologist at Israel’s water authority.

The level is only around 20 centimetres (less than eight inches) above the record low plumbed in 2001 -- except, at that time, 400 million cubic metres (14.1 billion cubic feet) a year were pumped out for irrigation.

“This year, we only pumped 20 million cubic metres, but the lake is in a very bad state,” said Givati.

Added to that is the 50 million cubic metres Israel sends to neighbouring Jordan as part of peace agreements. (afp)

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

11

Journey to the afterlife: Indonesia’s Toraja live among the dead Martha Kande’s family lived with her greying, shrivelled corpse at their home in Indonesia for seven months, as they prepared an elaborate funeral that is central to the Toraja people’s centuriesold death rituals.

“We keep the body in a coffin at home,” Meyske Latuihamallo, the 81-year-old woman’s granddaughter, told AFP. “But it’s kept open before they are buried because we see them as sick so they are brought food and drink every day.”

Torajans -- an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island -- have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative.

Traditionally the embalming process involved sour vinegar and tea leaves but these days families usually inject a formaldehyde solution into the corpse. “After a week, there’s no odour anymore”, local tourist guide Lisa Saba Palloan told AFP. It may seem a ghoulish practice to some: living side-by-side with an embalmed body for months -- or even years -- before paying homage in a ritualistic display of blood and guts.

But the Toraja believe that a person is only dead -- and their soul freed -- after an elaborate funeral known as “Rambu Solo”.

hierarchy.

They sit alongside wooden dolls in traditional clothing, representing deceased nobility, while some bodies are kept in coffins that hang from steep cliffs -- owing to limited space. “These are the customs of our ancestors,” said Kande’s 72-year-old nephew Johanes Singkali.

“We maintain them to preserve these traditions and keep them sacred from outside influences.” Although most Torajans are Christian -- a product of Dutch colonialism -- they have held onto earlier traditions rooted in animistic beliefs.

The more elaborate a funeral the more likely the person’s spirit will reach the level of the gods. But it comes at a cost.

As many as 100 buffalo could be slaughtered for a noble person, while as few as eight will suffice for a middle-class Torajan.

Funerals can set a family back up to two billion rupiah ($133,000) -- an extravagant amount in a country where more than half the population live on less than $5.50 a day, according to the World Bank.

“We used to be animists, so we buried people with boars and buffalos to offer the spirits on the way to the afterlife,” Singkali said.

“It costs a lot and there are a lot of preparations while all the relatives living outside Toraja must come too.”

- ‘Preserve tradition’ -

Hundreds gathered in La’Bo village for Kande’s spiritual send-off, along with dozens of picture-snapping tourists. Her body was put into a red coffin -- in the form of a traditional, boat-shaped house -- which was then placed in front of her home.

Relatives clad in black dragged dozens of pigs into the centre of the village for slaughter as family members danced.

Wild boars howled and blood poured from a sacrificial buffalo’s throat as Kande’s family prepared her mummified body for the afterlife.

Following the five-day ceremony, the octogenarian was placed in one of the many burial caves scattered around the mountainous region, where skeletal remains are arranged by social

- ‘Time of celebration’ -

At midday, a prized buffalo was led out onto a blue tarpaulin where its throat was slit -- confirming the woman’s death -- and the carcass butchered for a big dinner to follow.

Finally Kande’s coffin was carried around the neighbourhood in a symbolic goodbye. It’s not for the squeamish, but American visitor Ellie Eshleman took a philosophical view. “I am passionate about death,” the 29-year-old said.

“I would like to help restore it to its spiritual place in the Western world. So, I came here to see their death customs and how it can be a time of celebration.”

- Death tourism -

The Indonesian government is trying to promote Torajan death rituals as part of ambitious plans to boost tourism across the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago. While the Toraja region draws tens of thousands of tourists annually, it is a fraction of the millions who descend on holiday hotspot Bali.

Growing Toraja tourism faces several hurdles, although opposition from locals does not appear to be among them.

Rather, poor infrastructure and the absence of a major airport in the highland region make travel difficult.

Furthermore, it is difficult to plan a trip to see a Rambu Solo ceremony because dates can change as families struggle to save enough money for one.

But many visitors are still willing to take a chance and drive for hours from the nearest major airport to see one of the world’s most unique funeral rites. “Toraja is a piece of heaven on earth,” said Harli Patriatno, North Toraja’s head of culture and tourism.

“Its natural beauty combined with the Toraja people’s spiritualism and funeral rites is extraordinary.” (afp)

GOH Chai Hin / AFP

This picture taken on September 12, 2018 shows the people of Toraja carrying a coffin during a funeral ceremony known as “Rambu Solo” in Londa in Tana Toraja regency. Torajans -- an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island -- have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative. But the Toraja believe that a person is only dead -- and their soul freed -- after an elaborate funeral known as “Rambu Solo”.

12

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

BUSINESS

DUBAI - Higher oil prices are helping to offset increases in public spending by the Middle East’s oil exporting heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, with these countries narrowing their budget deficit by $77 billion, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The IMF projects that Saudi Arabia’s economy will see 2.2 percent growth this year and 2.4 percent next year, after shrinking 0.9 percent last year. Saudi Arabia is aiming to balance its budget by 2023.

Iran’s economy is expected to contract by 1.5 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2019, the report said.

This comes after Iran’s economy saw growth of 12.5 percent in 2016 and 3.7 in 2017, after sanctions had been temporarily lifted.

Azour said one of the most pressing issues facing Iran is aligning the official local currency exchange rate with black market rates.

The IMF cautions that global oil prices, while potentially buoyed in the near-term by cuts in Iranian oil supply, are expected to slide down to around $60 a barrel in the next three to four years.

Benchmark Brent crude, which had been trading above $80 a barrel recently, now hovers around $70 after U.S. sanctions waivers for countries that import heavily from Iran, which accounts for 5 percent of global oil exports.

“For Saudi and other GCC countries, we believe it’s not now the time to be complacent,” Azour said, referring to other Arab oilexporting countries in the Persian Gulf.

The IMF is urging oil-exporters in the region to curb subsidies to

AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File

In this Jan. 22, 2014, file photo, a partially constructed gas refinery at the South Pars gas field is seen on the northern coast of Persian Gulf in Asalouyeh, Iran. Japan, South Korea and other major oil importers welcomed Tuesday the decision by the Trump administration to let them continue to import Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products despite the re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran. reduce spending, expand taxes to boost revenue and narrow the public sector wage bill by attracting foreign investment and encouraging the private sector to create more jobs.

The IMF also warns that at least 25 million new jobs need to be created in the next five years to keep unemployment rates the same across the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Azour said a country like Egypt, where economic growth this year and last exceeded 5 percent, needs to create 700,000 to 1 million new jobs per year to keep it’s unemployment rate from rising. (ap)

meetings sidestepped questions on whether Italy might be hit with a EU fine.

“One thing at a time,” said Mario Centeno, Portugal’s finance minister who heads the so-called eurogroup and had just emerged from talks in Rome with Italy’s economy minister, Giovanni Tria.

Centeno preferred to speak of an overarching concern in Brussels.

“Beyond the rules, sustainability is the heart of the discussion,” Centeno told reporters.

Tria gave no indication Italy would budge on its budget plans to please the EU. Flanking Centeno, Tria said that if avoiding sanctions were the goal, “we would have to make a very violent budget maneuver of fiscal restriction.” That, he argued, “would be suicide for an economy in marked slowdown.”

Italy’s economic growth has been sub-par for years.

There are doubts within Italy, too, about whether the govern-

ment can achieve its economic growth goals with its proposed budget.

An Italian central bank official, deputy director Luigi Federico Signorini, told lawmakers Friday that the government’s growth forecasts for next year are “ambitious.”

The EU expects the Italian economy to grow only 1.2 percent next year, the lowest in the eurozone. The Italian government expects a more optimistic 1.5 percent growth. (ap)

Italian populist leader ‘guarantees’ nation won’t exit euro

ROME - The head of one of Italy’s ruling parties insisted Friday that the country won’t exit the euro currency bloc nor exceed its targeted deficit limit, dismissing the European Union’s worries about the populist government’s budget strategy.

Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, who heads the main party in the five-month old coalition, told foreign correspondents in Rome that he “guarantees” that domestic spending cuts plus economic

growth spurred by public investment will keep the country from overshooting its deficit target for next year, as EU officials fear.

“There’s still a lot to cut,” Di Maio said. “The guarantee we’re giving is that 2.4 percent (of GDP) is the maximum deficit term” Italy will run up next year.

He brushed off concern that Italy might incur EU sanctions if it sticks to its deficit target.

Meanwhile, the head of the 19-member eurozone’s finance

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

5

Sharing the healing power of nature

IMF: Mideast oil producers buoyed by higher prices, for now

However, the rosier outlook for some oil exporters is not consistent across the region. In Iran, the reimposition of U.S. sanctions last week on oil exports is expected to drive up inflation there to more than 40 percent by year’s end.

The findings, which came in the IMF’s new regional outlook report, said the overall fiscal deficit for the Mideast’s oil exporters is projected to decline from around $118 billion last year to $41 billion this year, before narrowing to $3 billion in 2019.

For Saudi Arabia, growth projections remain unchanged despite fallout from the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month. International outrage prompted big name executives and officials to back out from attending a major investment conference in Riyadh after the killing. IMF chief Christine Lagarde was among the high-level participants who pulled out of the summit.

Still, it’s too early to tell what the impact of this could be on the Saudi economy, where the price of oil remains a key determinant, said the IMF’s Mideast and Central Asia director Jihad Azour.

“There are several more important issues that factor in play. The evolution of oil price. The level of export of oil. The spending in government. The pace of reforms,” Azour told The Associated Press.

Bali News

International

Coming together for Palu

Following the devastating natural disasters that occurred in Palu, Sulawesi last month numerous efforts have been made to provide material support and assistance to those affected by the tsunami, earthquake and mudslides.

Although basic necessities and physically rebuilding the area are certainly much needed, attending to the emotional trauma caused by the devastation is equally important.

Forum Sudut Pandang is a youth organization in Palu who use art to reach out to troubled youngsters and with recent events they certainly have their hands full.

Working with art as a means to approach traumatic experiences is a liberating way for people to get back into harmony with themselves and their environment and as Gayatri: “art is a way for people to feel free to express what cannot be expressed otherwise, and this sharing is in itself extremely healing”.

This spirit of sharing through art took a new form last week as Forum Sudut Pandang representatives were invited to Bali to take part in a BEKRAF (creative economy) meeting in Nusa Dua. Although the Palu representatives were in no position to bring any crafts with them to the event, instead they brought stories written by the youth they are working with in Palu that were written on postcards that were displayed at the event.

While in Bali they were also invite to take part in a special fundraiser hosted by Bali Life Studio who offer breath and movement workshops of various kinds for beauty, harmony and togetherness as a form of healing. The fundraiser

IBP/kmb

Forum Sudut Pandang representative sharing about post-disaster situation in Palu involved a heartfelt sharing of traditional Maori instruments played by a visiting Maori artist and cultural advocate who brought the spirit of the pacific islands together for all to experience nature’s medicine.

The evening began with prayers officiated by Balinese priest Ida Pandita Mpu Jaya Rekatenaya and group chanting, followed by Forum Sudut Pandang (www.sudutpandang.org) representative Rahmadiyah Tria Gayatri explaining what they do in Palu, how people they are dealing with the situation there

and what inspires her to keep going.

“Facing such disturbing things can be really challenging, but by helping others it gives me the strength to keep going”.

Everyone then took a small break to casually mingle and share stories with one and other. Bu Tujung Crystal who was in charge of trauma relief for those who were evacuated during the eruption of Mount Agung shared with the Palu delegates about her experience of the powerful way that people come together in times of need. “I don’t

mean to sound harsh, and I know that the situation in Palu is far more dire, but I believe that nature is truly loving and that it is not up to us to understand why such things happen – only to open our hearts to helping those in need”.

The evening continued with the Maori representative opening his heart to everyone and sharing the deeply moving sounds of the natural instruments from his cultural heritage. Both haunting and soothing, the mesmerizing sounds brought healing to all through the

natural elements these instruments carry within them, echoing the majestic power of the natural world and beyond.

The evening of sharing then continued with a DJ set that had everyone on their feet dancing softly to the rhythmic sounds of music from around the world. Although reluctant at first, the Palu delegates eventually joined in the dancing and as one of them shared: “this is the first time I have danced since the disaster – it feels good”. (kmb)

Outbound Tourism Spending from the Gulf is Six Times the Global Average

A new report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) shows that outbound tourism from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – comprising six countries of the Arabian peninsula – has grown strongly in recent years, with international tourism expenditure surpassing USD 60 billion in 2017.

‘The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Outbound Travel Market’, a new report prepared by UNWTO and ETC with the support of Value Retail, examines the fast-growing outbound market of the GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United

Arab Emirates – with an additional focus on the image of Europe as a tourism destination.

It finds that per-capita international tourism spending from the GCC was 6.5 times higher than the global average in 2017, with expenditure estimated to be more than USD 60 billion in 2017, up from USD 40 billion in 2010.

“GCC countries constitute a fast-growing market with the potential to make a significant contribution to European tourism, diversifying demand and promoting new tourism segments”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili upon launching the report.

“The GCC nations remain a growing source market for European destinations, which should themselves capitalize on the potential of a younger, value-driven, well-informed and technologysavvy GCC traveller”, added ETC President Peter de Wilde.

Amongst its key findings, the report states that outbound travel from GCC countries to European destinations has benefited from the unprecedented growth in air travel during the past decade, with Gulf carriers becoming major players in long-haul aviation. Air connectivity between Europe and the GCC has seen exponential growth, providing

easy access to travel between the two regions.a It notes that GCC travellers are mostly young and family-oriented, with large disposable incomes, and looking for high-quality accommodation, food and retail services.

They value Europe’s variety of attractions and landscapes, developed infrastructure and common visa and currency systems, which make multi-destination travel easier.

Europe is seen as offering diversity in experiences as well as opportunities to shop for luxury and designer fashion. Barriers to booking a trip to Europe include safety and security concerns, the

language barrier and the high cost of holidays.

The report concludes with specific recommendations on how to position and market Europe to GCC tourists. It finds that destinations should focus on promoting specific tourism products and develop pan-European themes to attract tourists looking to visit multiple destinations.

The launch of the study will be supported by a webinar providing an overview of prospects in the GCC outbound travel market, insights into the profile and behaviour of GCC travellers, and appropriate targeted marketing strategies and messages for GCC consumers. (r)

4

Bali News

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

International

Fear of being categorized into illegal levies

‘Incomparable’ pink diamond could smash record at Geneva auction

Customary village worried to collect obligatory levies BANGLI - The red handed operation (OTT) carried out by law enforcement officials to ticket attendants at the Tirta Empul tourist attraction in Gianyar recently caused particular concern for customary village in Bangli. Chief of Serokadan customary village, Dewa Gede Oka, admitted that after the OTT, he was worried to carry out any levies such as obligatory levy (peturunan). Probably, the obligatory levy having been commonly collected in customary villages for the purpose of refurbishing temples or temple festival can be categorized into extortion.

When interviewed on Monday (Nov. 12), Dewa Oka regretted the existence of OTT to ticket attendants in customary village. After the OTT, according to him, it is now required a common understanding of the customary village bylaw (awig-awig) and its perarem or appendix. He said the rules are truly made as a binder of the local custom’s solidity. “Customary village has existed long before the Indonesia’s Independence, so the rules of positive legal products are far below the existence of the custom itself. A customary decision automatically binds on customary members. Mainly regarding the OTT, this is a very dilemmatic case.

If this continues, what will happen to the continuity of customary village?” he asked.

This man, who is also a member of the Bangli House of Representatives, admitted to be worried to collect any levies in customary village such as the obligatory levies. All this time, such levies are collected based on the results of customary meeting used for the improvement of temples, organizing temple festival (piodalan) and other customary activities. According to him, the customary obligatory levies can only be categorized into illegal levies if the regulation is not yet understood carefully. “Which are the customary rules and which are the positive laws must be understood.

Well, sometimes the customary decisions intersect with positive law or national law,” he said.

To anticipate similar cases in Bangli, according to Dewa Oka, there needs to be a unification of perceptions of all customary villages and its chief. The government and customary village officials must sit together and find a solution so that customary village is truly protected in the legal field.

“Without finding the solution or being resolved, as a chief of customary village, I am quite worried.

I will not dare to collect any levies because the peturunan can also be categorized into illegal levies.

Then, if the condition is like this who will be able to maintain our customary village?” he asked. (kmb40)

Dewa Gede Oka

IBP/kmb

13

Roslan RAHMAN / AFP

IBP/kmb

The Semarapura Tengah Night Festival i was officially closed by Regent I Nyoman Suwirta on Sunday night (Nov. 12).

Suwirta closes Semarapura Tengah Night Festival

Klungkung youth hoped to keep on innovating

SEMARAPURA - Having lasted since last Friday (Nov. 9), the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival in front of the office of Klungkung regent was officially closed by Regent I Nyoman Suwirta on Sunday night (Nov. 12). Despite the rain, the enthusiasm of community was very booming to watch the entertainment and visit the MSME stands.

The closing ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Indonesia Anti-Doping Institute (LADI), Syaifuddin Munis, Chief of the Family Empowerment and Welfare (PKK) of Klungkung, Mrs. Ayu Suwirta, Subdistrict Head of Klungkung, Komang Gde Wisnuadi, and the people witnessing the closing of the festival.

Regent Suwirta was very impressed with the extraordinary innovation made by young people of Klungkung, especially that of Semarapura Tengah organizing the festival. According to him, such activities must also be followed by all other village youth clubs of Klungkung in the future. This kind of activity is a form of motivation and enthusiasm for young people so that in the future they can innovate in making a better concept.

“In the future, I have assigned the related committee to immediately gather young people that we will give an understanding, training and then how to make the appropriate branding,” said Suwirta.

Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesia Anti-Doping Institute (LADI), Syaifuddin Munis, greatly appreciated to the festival. According to him, young people in Klungkung district are able to make the best steps as well as innovative event. He added that young people are a strong foundation for building this country. Therefore, young people of Klungkung in particular are expected to have innovation for the best programs. “Keep on making innovation so that such events can be maintained properly,” ordered Syaifuddin.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the Putra Sesana village youth club, I Gede Jana Utama, said the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival is different from the other festival in general. This is the only one and first held by the Putra Sesana village youth club at Semarapura Tengah village. Moreover, this festival is motivated by the concern of the Putra Sesana to provide a medium for the MSME players at Semarapura Tengah to develop further. “I see the potential of the MSMEs at

Semarapura Tengah is quite large, so that we want to provide space for them to develop themselves more,” said Gede Jana Utama.

In addition to facilitating the MSME players, the festival is also intended to encourage youth members to be more creative in innovation. “We also mean this activity to direct our members to do positive and beneficial things for the welfare of the community,” he said.

During the three days, the Semarapura Tengah Night Festival carried out various activities in succession. Visitors could enjoy a variety of culinary delights from the MSME players in Klungkung.

Besides, there were exhibitions of various MSMEs, ranging from fashion sector to the creative industries. In addition, some public entertainments were held ranging from fashion shows, traditional dance competitions, female barong ket, theater, comedy to music featuring celebgram Ratih Padnyaswari and musician Bayu Cuaca. (win)

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a business forum on the sidelines of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore on November 12, 2018.

‘We don’t need their prize’: Myanmar defiant as Amnesty pulls Suu Kyi award

YANGON - Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire.

Suu Kyi’s international reputation as a rights icon is in pieces and Amnesty’s move is the latest in a string of rescinded accolades.

Canada revoked her honorary citizenship last month and the US Holocaust Museum in March took back an award named after concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel.

Institutions that once showered Suu Kyi with titles are rapidly distancing themselves from a leader they argue is doing little in the face of alleged genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya minority.

Amnesty’s “Ambassador of Conscience Award” was bestowed in 2009 and other recipients include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Ai Wei Wei. “Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights,” Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group.

“Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as

a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you.”

But domestically, Suu Kyi remains popular across vast swathes of Myanmar and within her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 2015 ending decades of military-backed rule.

The stripping of awards not only harms the “dignity” of Suu Kyi, but also that of all NLD members, the party’s spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding he thought this was all part of a wider conspiracy.

“All these organisations are working for the Bengalis who have left the country in order to get citizenship,” he said, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya that is widely accepted in Myanmar and falsely implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Deputy Minister for Information Aung Hla Tun told AFP he was personally sad and disappointed

by Amnesty’s announcement and

said Suu Kyi was being treated “unfairly”.

Such moves would only “make the people love her more”, he added.

People on the street in Yangon were defiant.

“Their withdrawal is pretty childish. It’s like when children aren’t getting along with each other and take back their toys,” 50-yearold Khin Maung Aye said.

“We don’t need their prize,” said Htay Htay, 60.

More than 720,000 Rohingya were driven over the border to Bangladesh in a crackdown that started in August 2017, and refugees have detailed horrific testimony of murder, rape, torture and arson.

The military says it was defending itself against Rohingya militants.

UN investigators have called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide and accused Suu Kyi’s government of complicity, though has stopped short of calling for her to be hauled before a court. (afp)

GENEVA - An exceptionally rare 19-carat pink diamond goes under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday, when it could fetch $50 million (44 million euros), setting a new record for a stone of its kind.

The Pink Legacy used to belong to the Oppenheimer family, which for decades ran the De Beers diamond mining company, but auction house Christie’s refused to say who the current owner was.

Christie’s international head of jewellery, Rahul Kadakia, described The Pink Legacy as “one of the world’s greatest diamonds”.

The rectangular-cut diamond has been graded “fancy vivid” -- the highest possible grade of colour intensity.

Christie’s has noted that in the salesroom, fancy vivid pink diamonds over 10 carats are “virtually unheard of” and that only four vivid pink diamonds or over 10 carats have ever been offered at auction.

One of them, the nearly 15carat Pink Promise, was sold last November at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong for $32.5 million.

That amounts to $2.176 million per carat, which remains the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

- Record price possible Eddie LeVian, CEO of jewellers Le Vian, said that record could fall

at Tuesday’s auction, which is being held at the ultra-luxurious Four Seasons des Bergues hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva.

“We’ve recently witnessed a meteoric rise in the number of the world’s ultra-high net worth individuals who view rare, natural fancy colour diamonds as investments,” Le Vian said in a statement.

“I therefore believe the Pink Legacy will beat the current world auction record,” he added.

The stone was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago and was probably cut in the 1920 and has not been altered since, Christie’s said.

“Imagine a domino that you have cut the corners off of,” JeanMarc Lunel, an international jewellery specialist at Christie’s, recently told AFP, pointing out that the cut is a “classical so-called emerald cut”, which stands out from the typical, more rounded, multi-facetted cuts used today.

The classic rectangular cut is traditionally used for white stones, but is rare for pink diamonds.

Christie’s said the Pink Legacy is “the largest and finest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever offered at auction by the company,” calling the stone “incomparable.”

“It is probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction,” Lunel said. (afp)

Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The Pink Legacy, a 18.96 carat fancy vivid pink diamond once owned by Oppenheimer family is displayed on November 8, 2018 during a press preview ahead of sales by Christie’s auction house in Geneva.

14

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Technology

International

Bali News

International

Never without their smartphones: a global revolution

NOAH BERGER / AFP

In this file photo taken on September 12, 2018 Apple iPhone Xr models rest on display during a launch event in Cupertino, California.

Smartphones: a double-edged sword for terrorists

PARIS - Bombs and guns aside, a smartphone can be a powerful weapon in the hands of a terrorist -- but it can also provide intelligence services with the tools to track them down.

Three years ago to the day, the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015 remain one of the best known examples of a large-scale assault that could not have been planned without phones.

The Islamic State group gunmen and bombers who struck the Bataclan concert hall and other nightlife spots used them extensively to coordinate the carnage, said a former French anti-terrorist official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Just before entering the Bataclan, where they massacred 90 people, the attackers had sent a text message to accomplices in Belgium: “We’re going ahead. It’s started.”

But if smartphones have been a “game-changer” for jihadists, their use by the world’s extremists goes much further back than the Paris attacks.

“As of 2003, in Iraq, home-made bombs started being set off by the sending of an SMS as American convoys drove past. This caught on and was then repeatedly used by AlQaeda,” the ex-official told AFP. These days, encrypted apps such

as Telegram, Wire and WhatsApp can help jihadists communicate while evading police tracking -- or at least complicate efforts to decode their messages.

For several years IS has published online tutorials in several languages explaining to jihadists how to choose the best software to evade detection in war zones.

For new recruits in developing countries, where smartphones are more common than computers, there are different strategies still.

“Phones are no longer phones -- they’re computers,” said Laurent Heslault, director of security strategies at Symantec, a security group.

“They are far more powerful than what we had on our desks 10 years ago,” he added.

“They have more computing power, more memory and connection capabilities. They are very powerful tools when it comes to communicating.”

That has also made it much easier for jihadist groups to recruit new members.

Smartphones “enable people to reach out for propaganda” with the swipe of a screen, said the retired official.

“Thirty years ago, guys used to

exchange video cassettes, then it was CDs. Now it’s online and can be looked up at any time.”

For propaganda-makers, videos of attacks can be filmed and uploaded in the blink of an eye.

“You can film attacks, claim responsibility, use (a phone) to take photos and film reconnaissance operations,” the ex-official said.

- Flip side of the phone -

But the smartphone can be an extremist’s downfall as well as their best asset.

Intelligence agencies have grown better at using phones to identify suspects, spy on them -- and, in case of capture, lift data for use as evidence in court.

That in turn has raised difficult questions for tech giants who promise their users privacy.

Most famously, Apple faced a court showdown with the FBI after agents sought access to the data of the attackers who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015.

Investigators dropped the case after finding a way into the phone without help from Apple, which argued that helping authorities access a phone would set a dangerous precedent.

Further afield, governments have used phone data extensively to pinpoint extremist suspects.

The French military intervention in Mali, launched in 2013 after jihadists took over the northern half the country, started with air strikes whose targets were chosen based on phone data, the former French official said.

“Today all air strikes focus on telephones,” he added.

“Even if you keep changing the SIM card the phone has its own identity and once detected can continue being tracked.”

And when it comes to police investigations, smartphones sometimes provide more information than their owners. They might allow investigators to work their way back along an information trail, snare other members of a suspect’s network, and track sleeper cells, he added.

“Smartphones make you a target,” the expert said.

“Because of this jihadist leaders have learned to keep away from them. For the past few years, there’s been a marked return to using human envoys,” he added. (afp)

IBP/net

Intelligence agencies have grown better at using phones to identify suspects, spy on them—and, in case of capture, lift data for use as evidence in court.

3

REI Bali prepares vertical home designs

Targeting millennial generation

PARIS - At the sharp end of conflict in Syria, in a schoolchild’s bag in Kenya, whether fighting deadly diseases or studying forestry, the smartphone has become ubiquitous in just over a decade.

This year, the number of users is expected to pass three billion, and AFP photographers have sampled how the phones have become a mainstay of lives around the world for people who cannot live without them.

Take Moris Atwine, 25. The Ugandan entrepreneur helped to develop a mobile app to aid in the diagnosis of malaria, a worldwide killer, without the need for a blood sample, and transmit the result in seconds.

Qiao Xi, 21, describes her smartphone as her “boyfriend”. From an all-blue studio, the Beijing-based vlogger live-streams songs, dance moves and observations about her daily life to some 600,000 followers on the Huoshan channel.

From the frivolous to the deadly serious, Mohammed Hamroush is a member of the “White Helmets” group, which rushes to help the wounded in rebel-held parts of Syria.

Hamroush’s smartphone helps the volunteer to track bombardments, get to where help is needed, and allows his worried wife to know he’s safe.

Inna Salminen works in far calmer conditions, using her smartphone to survey the forests of Finland, but knows too that the device can be a lifesaver if she gets lost in a remote area.

The 27-year-old conservation expert speaks for a whole generation when she describes only having a “hazy memory” of life before smartphones.

Aged 13, Imelda Mumbi has no such memory at all. The Kenyan schoolgirl uses her smartphone for fun, of course, but also to help her studies.

Imelda counts on Eneza, an interactive educational app which has about three million users worldwide, plugging her corner of Africa into a global network that has grown from nothing in a few short years. (afp)

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

DENPASAR — Real Estate Indonesia (REI) of Bali Chapter has prepared a vertical house design. This will be discussed at the regional working meeting of the REI Bali next December.

In the regional meeting, local government, Customary Village Main Assembly (MUDP), and the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) will be invited to discuss vertical houses in terms of customs, culture and rules.

Regent of Karangasem, I Gusti Ayu Mas Sumatri

IBP/kmb

Regent Mas Sumatri

Determined to make Karangasem beggarfree in 2020

AMLAPURA — Until now, a number of residents of Karangasem, especially residents of Munti Gunung, are still homeless and beggars.

To make the residents no longer beg, various efforts have been made by the local government, where one of which is by implementing the program named My Village Is Waiting.

Through this program, Karangasem is expected to be free from beggars in 2020.

Regent of Karangasem, I Gusti Ayu Mas Sumatri, said the My Village Is Waiting program in Karangasem is in the process after being commenced last August with the opening ceremony of skill training and groundbreaking of the construction of 50 units of home for Socially Assisted Citizens (WBS) currently still wandering and begging. The effort carried out is part to realize poverty reduction. Since begging is a part of people with social welfare problems (PMKS), it must receive proper services for their welfare. In 2017, Karangasem Social Agency already provided incense making machines and tools used to make palm-leaf oblations and marketing assistance to the former social coaching participants and beggars.

Mas Sumatri said that in the future, the Munti Gunung region will be directed to the development through alleviation of beggar based on tourism village. Actually, they have potential in the form of stretches of hills and valleys that can be developed into natural tourism. It retains Padpad spring known as breadwinner and can be developed into spiritual tour-

ism. It is located in a valley, very beautiful and challenging to visit.

In addition, Munti Gunung can also be developed into Organic Cashew Agro Tourism, Rosella tea, palm leaf fruit as well as creative agro industry with various industrial and culinary activities.

“We hope the Social Guidance and Rehabilitation program of the Bali Social Agency together with the Ministry of Social Affairs on this occasion is expected to continue in the future according to the stages that must be carried out together through synergy with various programs implemented.

Hopefully, there will be no more residents of the Karangasem district especially the residents of Munti Gunung that are still begging, and in 2020 Karangasem can be declared free from beggars,” she said.

Head of Karangasem Social Agency, Ni Ketut Puspa Kumari, explained the development process for My Village Is Waiting experienced several problems, including the coincidence of Usaba ritual held at the location. In addition, there are also some technical problems and they are expected to find out solution in the evaluation meeting. Of course, some obstacles still occur in the field in convincing the public that this program will actually have a positive impact on their life later.

Moreover, lately there was a rumor stating there is an illness caused by the development believed to have a psychical element. “We have also carried out psychical approach by holding special rituals,” said Puspa Kumari. (kmb41)

Chairman of the REI Bali, Pande Agus Permana Widura, said the vertical housing would be discussed in the Regional Working Meeting. He hoped the meeting can find an agreement to be realized immediately because vertical living is something needed in Bali today.

“Right now we are even in the stage of designing vertical housing. Yesterday, we also talked to the Housing Agency and indeed it has the same ideas,” he stated on Sunday (Nov. 11) in Denpasar.

He emphasized to its members to keep Balinese design because it is closely related to Balinese customs and culture.

He studied the type of millennial in meeting their housing needs.

They are used to living not in their homes like boarding or rental house. He saw the millennial will not be going through a cultural shock because they are used to living outside their homes.

“What distinguishes them is that in the end they can have an investment, not just pay contributions per month but without investment.

With this idea, I hope that anyone can have a place to live in, invest and have a decent place,” he said.

The constraint experienced in building vertical occupancy is the maximum height of 15 meters in accordance with the Regional Regulation. With this regulation, 15 meter may consist of 4-5 floors, and then in terms of housing prices, it is not in line with the community’s affordability. “I strive to keep the price affordable for the community,” he said.

Vertical house prices highly depend on the area and land area.

The larger the land used to build a vertical house, the smaller the cost will be. With the land area of only 5,000 square meters, the price of vertical housing can be around IDR 400-450 million per unit. “Hopefully, it can be reduced again. So, I am still pursuing the installments so that they are not too heavy,” he concluded.

The target of vertical houses is millennial generation because it is the fastest adaption to change, compared to the previous generation.

Besides, the millennial generation has very open minded. “They have a great desire to look for a place

to live in but the obstacles lie in the price that is not affordable to them. If this can be adopted, I am confident the millennial will first try for this vertical shelter,” he said.

Construction of vertical housing is a solution because the land in Bali is increasingly narrow so that vertical houses can control land conversion. On the other hand, there is still land that has not been maximized as a place to live in.

However, in terms of infrastructure, it has not been supported.

According to him, vertical housing can better adopt Balinese customs and culture. What is happening now is the house built to be used as a room -- a place to live in.

“This indirectly damages Balinese custom itself. In the old days when

Pande Agus Permana Widura

people had a house and he worked in the paddy fields, there was a term of ‘hut’ in the paddy field. Well, we analogize such vertical housing to that hut. Thus, traditional house can still exist, but when working in the city, they stay in the ‘urban hut.’

With this hut, traditional houses can be maintained and the land conversion can be controlled,” he explained.

Another member of the REI Bali, I Made Dwi Indrawan, said the times have changed. If persisting on using the basis of the 15-meter local regulation, Bali will get marginalized compared to other regions whose spirit is not in line with that of the central government, namely maintaining the green belt and food needs. (kmb42)

IBP/kmb

2

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Bali News

International

Indonesia to free Bali Nine drug smuggler Lawrence: official

The only female member of the “Bali Nine” heroin-trafficking gang will be freed from an Indonesian prison next week, a corrections official said Monday, after serving 13 years in a case that caused a diplomatic furore.

Australian Renae Lawrence, 41, was arrested in 2005 after she was caught with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin strapped to her body as she tried to fly out of the international airport on the holiday island of Bali.

Lawrence was sentenced to life imprisonment, but her sentence was later reduced to 20 years and then further reduced due to good behaviour. “She will be released on November 21,” Made Suwendra, head of the Bangli prison on Bali where Lawrence is incarcerated, told AFP. “(Lawrence) is a nice person. Accommodating, easy to work with and be friends with. There have been no problems since she’s been here.”It is likely that Lawrence will be deported shortly after her prison release. She will be the only member of the Bali Nine to win their freedom so far.

Gang ringleaders Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic row between Australia and Indonesia, which has some of the world’s strictest drug laws including

the death penalty.

In June, another Bali Nine member Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in prison from stomach cancer, while the remaining five are currently serving life sentences.

Some critics have lashed out at the Australian police for tipping off their Indonesian counterparts about the gang and putting its members at risk of execution in Indonesia.

High-profile cases like that of Australian Schapelle Corby, who spent more than nine years behind bars for smuggling marijuana into Bali, have stoked concern that Indonesia is becoming a destination for trafficked drugs. Corby was deported in 2017 after several years of parole. (afp)

In this file photo taken on October 21, 2005, Australian Renae Lawrence holds hands with relative as she asks for support before her trial at a court in Denpasar. Renae Lawrence, the only female member of an Australian gang that smuggled heroin into Indonesia, sparking a diplomatic row after two of its members were executed, is set to be released from prison next week, an official said on November 12, 2018.

ARDILES RANTE / AFP

Shops of Chinese mafia network closed

Affected entrepreneurs ask Bali to cooperate with mafia

DENPASAR - The closure of Chinese mafia network shops has an impact on other businesses such as travel agencies, water sports, spa and food outlets to tour guides.

Primarily, it is related to the decrease in the number of Chinese tourists after the shops were closed. The employers and employees affected complained to the Bali House of Representatives on Monday (Nov. 12). Interestingly, one of them even hoped that Bali makes cooperation with the mafia.

“Their shop is not only in Indonesia, but also all over the world through mafia network. For example, if we don’t cooperate with the mafia, only few tourists will come,” said Hendi, a tour guide.

Hendi added that Chinese and Hong Kong mafia dare to spend billions or even trillions of rupiahs per day to bring in Chinese tourists to Bali. According to him, what Bali needs is not a quality but quantity of guests. “The rule is only one namely they have to enter the shop. But it doesn’t mean shopping. If we ban, guests do not come. “Inevitably, we must agree,” he added.

A travel entrepreneur, Rusli Wisanto, admitted to losing money because the closed shops canceled the contract unilaterally. That means he no longer receives subsidies as much as the number of Chinese tourists landing in Bali. Meanwhile, each guest is valued at around USD 205 by the shops.

“Subsidies depend on the number of guests coming into the shop. Each shop appraises per head differently. So, the highest price is around USD 205,” said the man who is familiarly called Kris. According to Kris, he still has around 1,000 Chinese tourists that will arrive until the end of the month. The loss suffered is multiplied by USD 205. During low season, Chinese guests traveling to Bali reach around 1,500 people per month. Meanwhile, in high season it can reach more than 3,000s.

“We’re not a big company, we’re a small one. The impact

only happens to the small ones. Maybe the big ones do not speak out because many administrative processes are not executed. In other words, hopefully, after this incident, the companies with big capital will not become the ruler in Bali,” he hoped.

An MSME player at Bongkasa, I Wayan Setiawan, stated that his income has now decreased dramatically. Before the issues of Chinese shops came to surface, there were approximately thousands of Chinese tourists coming to Bongkasa.

But right now, there are almost no guests coming. Actually, there is a rafting business employing local workers there.

“Before this issue emerged, the arrival of tourists to our village was crowded. It has an impact on tour guides, and the people selling and there is contribution to local hamlet as well. We got it from guests. All communities enjoy the economic turnaround from what they say trash tourists.

Formerly, when there was the visit of elite tourists we just could watch,” he explained.

IBP/Eka Adhyasa

Setiawan asked the government to find a solution first before closing the Chinese network shops. Water tourism entrepreneurs in Nusa Penida, I Putu Darmaya, stated the big problem after Chinese network shops were closed is that who will bring in Chinese tourists to Bali. So far, those shops have brought in guests to Bali by investing.

“Precisely, the government is actually benefited because without spending money the guests had arrived. Who brought it? Those guests are brought in by them (Chinese network shops—Ed). Now, they have been closed,” he said.

If indeed there are deviations committed, continued Darmaya, they should be invited to sit down together. It does not necessarily mean if he tends to support the quantity because the quality of guests must also be prioritized. However, it will depend very much on the budget owned by tourists. Now, the government just needs to choose one of them.

“In our opinion, we hope both, whether in terms of good and bad quality. One portion is cheap and another portion is expensive. We have to sort out lest blame on the market.

Cheap markets are stopped if guests in Bali are entirely of good quality. However, as long as the expensive guests do not exist, why don’t we take the cheap ones first,” he explained.

Chairperson of Commission IV of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nyoman Parta, gave emphasis the business carried out in Bali must be fair. Therefore, the closure of the unlicensed shops and the licensed shops but their business is not fair must still be done. On the other hand, apparently this has an impact on parties indirectly related to Chinese network shops.

“There are swings, water sport, spa and roasted pig stalls having nothing to do with the shop closure but suffering loses because the shops are closed. This must be arranged immediately so that they will rise again,” he said. (kmb32)

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Activities

International

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

15

Harper Kuta - Bali Launches New “Honeymoon Intimate Package“

Known as a hidden paradise, Bali is the perfect island to celebrate love. To ensure that all couples can celebrate their love hassle-free, Harper Kuta Bali is proud to announces the new “Honeymoon Intimate Package” that features ultimate romantic experience.

With only IDR 3.079.000,++ Honeymoon Intimate Package features 3-nights stay at our spacious and modern Deluxe Room.

Upon arrival, honeymooners will be greeted with a complimentary Rustik honeymoon cake, romantic honeymoon set up and fresh rose petals bed arrangement. In addition, the couples can share their intimate session with 2-hours couple spa at The Spa. A 4-course romantic candle light dinner under the stars at Rustik Bistro & Bar will ensure that couples remember

every single moment staying at Harper Kuta Bali Hotel “Our team at Harper Kuta - Bali always try to do their best creating perfect honeymoon stay for every couples. We provide not only a variety of romantic facilities, but also a chance for each guests to share an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon activities. By providing Honeymoon Intimate Package, we hope that Harper Kuta - Bali will always be remembered as a romantic and enjoyable hotel in the heart of Legian street,” says Monik R. Artajaya, Director of Sales & Marketing Harper Kuta - Bali.

For reservations and further information, please call our reservation team at +62 361 8469869 or email us at KutaInfo@HarperHotels.com or visit our website: kuta. harperhotels.com

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

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

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Victoria’s Secret apologises for ‘insensitive’ transgender model comments

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

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

THE lingerie brand’s chief marketing officer Ed Razek had said transgender models should not be included in their annual shows.

Victoria’s Secret chief marketing officer has apologised for saying transgender models should not be included in the brand’s annual shows.

Ed Razek, who was discussing diversity in an interview with Vogue magazine, has since said his remarks were “insensitive”.

The US lingerie brand’s 2018 showcase took place in New York on 8 November, and featured models including Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Mr Razek, who was part of the casting team, told Vogue he had considered putting transgender and plus-sized models in the show.

He added that he didn’t because the company “did not market to the whole world”.

Mr Razek went on to say: “Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. “Do we offer larger sizes?

Yes.” He added: “(People

ask) shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should... the show is a fantasy. “It’s a 42minute entertainment special.

“That’s what it is. “It is the only one of its kind in the world.”

His comments come as Victoria’s Secret has experienced falling sales since 2016.

After the remarks attracted a backlash on social media, the brand tweeted an apology from Mr Razek.

It read: “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. “I apologise. “To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. “We’ve had transgender models come to castings... And like many others, they didn’t make it...

But it was never about gender.” (IBP/net)

The Victoria’s Secret fashion show took place in New York

IBP/net

Magritte painting fetches $26.8 million in NY

IBP/net

‘Le principe du plaisir’ (on the right), by Belgian painter Rene Magritte, fetched $26.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

NEW YORK - A painting by Rene Magritte sold for $26.8 million Monday at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, setting a record for a work by the Belgian surrealist.

The painting entitled “Le principe du plaisir” topped the price fetched by “La corde sensible”, which was sold in February 2017 in London for $17.9 million.

Sotheby’s had estimated the painting sold Monday as being worth 15 to 20 million dollars. It said seven collectors -- an unusu-

ally high number -- bid for it.

Other paintings on offer on the second night of the autumn art auctions in New York also surpassed their estimated value.

“Improvisation on Mahogany”

by Russian-born Wassily Kandinsky, fetched $24.2 million, compared to its pre-sale estimate of 15-20 million dollars.

A painting that was supposed to be one of the main attractions of the auction failed to lure a buyer.

It was Marsden Hartley’s “Pre-

War Pageant”, considered to be one of the first totally abstract works in the history of American art.

It was estimated at $30 million, nearly five times the record for that US painter.

On Sunday, the Vincent Van Gogh Painting “Coin de jardin avec papillons”, estimated at $40 million, went begging at a Christie’s auction of Impressionist and Modern art.

The fall art auctions continue through Thursday evening. (afp)

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VALERIE MACON / AFP

In this file photo taken on June 28, 2017 executive producer/comic book writer Stan Lee attends the world premiere of “Spider-man: Homecoming” at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Marvel legend Stan Lee, who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like SpiderMan and The Hulk who now dominate the world’s movie screens, has died.

Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee dead at 95: US media

Marvel legend Stan Lee, who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk who now dominate the world’s movie screens, has died.

He was 95 years old.

Lee, the face of comic book culture in the United States, died early Monday in Los Angeles, according to US entertainment outlets including The Hollywood Reporter. He had suffered a number of illnesses in recent years.

“My father loved all of his fans,” his daughter told Hollywood monitor TMZ. “He was the greatest, most decent man.” The New Yorker, known for his distinctive tinted glasses and impish grin,

frequently appeared at fan events where he was revered.

Lee ended up in the comics business by accident, thanks to an uncle who got him a job when he was a teenager filling artists’ inkwells and fetching coffee.

“I felt someday I’d write the ‘Great American Novel’ and I didn’t want to use my real name on these silly little comics,” he once said, explaining why he had forsaken his given name, Stanley

Lieber.

Lee rose through the ranks to become a comics writer, making millions of superhero fans dream of his fantastic universes and humans with extraordinary powers, and eventually led the Marvel empire for decades as its publisher.

From Spidey to Black Panther to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Lee collaborated with other authors and illustrators to put his lively imagination on the page.

Iron Man, Thor and Doctor Strange would follow -- and today, all three heroes have multi-film franchises that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lee has appeared in cameo roles in nearly every Marvel movie -- including as a bus driver in “Avengers: Infinity War,” a film that united many of the indelible characters he brought to life.

“Awww man, heartbreaking.

R.I.P. to a true pioneer and legend,” tweeted Australian filmmaker James Wan, who directed many of the “Saw” and “Insidious” movies as well as helming “Aquaman,” an

upcoming superhero film based on the character by Marvel rival DC Comics.

“My youth wouldn’t have been the same without him. So grateful to have met the guy, and told him how thankful I was for his work. #stanlee” (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.