Edisi 15 Agustus 2011 | International Bali Post

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Cheers in Myanmar as Suu Kyi travel tests freedom

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Monday, August 15, 2011

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An Austalian tourist reads the names of victims of the 2002 Bali bombing at monument in Kuta on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on August 11, 2011.

Indonesian police said Friday the alleged coordinator of the 2002 Bali attacks has explained how he assembled the bombs and handed the switch to an accomplice.

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French tourist arrivals in Bali up 7.73 percent PAGE 8

3 Doors Down gets introspective on new album PAGE 12

AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA

Indonesia says Bali suspect gives bombing details Agence France-Presse

WEATHER FORECAST CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

21 - 30

JAKARTA

24 - 32

BANDUNG

17 - 25

YOGYAKARTA

19 - 31

SURABAYA

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JAKARTA - Indonesian police said Friday the alleged coordinator of the 2002 Bali attacks has explained how he assembled the bombs and handed the switch to an accomplice.

Umar Patek has been cooperating with police interrogators since his extradition Thursday from Pakistan, where he was arrested in January in the town where Osama bin Laden was subsequently killed

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19 people.

After the deadlier attacks on the resort island of Bali two years later, which made Indonesia a front-line state in the “war on terror” and triggered a massive manhunt, Patek fled to the Philippines.

Patek is also wanted in the Philippines, where he allegedly plotted attacks with militants after escaping the Indonesian dragnet.

Continued on page 6

19 dead in attack on Afghan governor’s compound Associated Press Writer

SUNNY

by US commandos.

“He has confessed to helping to assemble the bombs for the Bali bombing, and worked with Azahari. The switch was handed to Azahari,” police spokesman

Anton Bachrul Alam said.

Azahari was a Malaysian extremist who police killed in a shootout in 2005 as they hunted members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network responsible for the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people mainly Western tourists.

Alam said Patek had also confessed to carrying out a series of church bombings in Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000, which killed

KABUL — A team of six suicide bombers launched a coordinated assault on a provincial governor’s compound in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 19 people in the latest high-profile attack to target prominent Afghan government officials, authorities said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the Parwan provincial capital of Charikar, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kabul.

Afghan police said the assault began with a car bomb outside the front gate. The blast blew open a hole in the wall, allowing five insurgents wearing suicide vests and carrying automatic weapons to

rush into the compound.

Afghan police said they killed three of the attackers as they approached the governor’s house.

The attack appeared to target a meeting of top provincial security officials that was taking place in the compound. Afghan National Police Gen. Abdul Jalil Rahimi said he was at the meeting, along with Parwan

Gov. Abdul Basir Salangi, top provincial Afghan army and police officials, and several NATO officers.

“Two of the bombers were able to get into the building of the governor’s house,” Rahimi said.

Fourteen of the dead were civilian Afghan government employees and five were policemen, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.

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International

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bali News On the Go, Agung Market Relocation Denpasar (Bali Post) -

IBP/File

A farmer is cleaning his rice paddy from weeds investation

Dozens of hectares of rice field attacked by weeds Tabanan (Bali Post)—

Rice farmers in Tabanan are now languishing again. Tens of hectares of rice field in the Anyar Hamlet, Sanggulan Village, Kediri, are attacked by weeds. As a result, the yields of their harvest drop sharply up to 50 percent. Ironically, such a calamity has often plagued the local farmland.

The attack of weeds has broken out violently since the last two months.

Even, its growth is even faster than the development of rice plants. In effect, some rice plants are turning yellow and growing dwarf so they are unable to bear fruit normally. Emergence of the weed attacks originated from the rampant brown plant hoppers in the previous planting season. Somehow, when farmers grew rice again, the weeds even turned rampant. “In practice, we have been spraying the plants by herbicides before planting season.

However, it really gave nothing,” complained Wayan Adiasa, 44, one of the local farmers.

This man had 2,000 square meters of farmland. Among the others, the farmland owned by Adiasa showed the most severe condition. Due to such high weeds, the yellowing rice plants were virtually invisible. “We have attempted to weed them. However, the growth of weeds took place very rapidly. Many farmers were overwhelmed,” he said. Since farmers were unable to control the weeds, they fi-

nally submitted to their fate. As a consequence, their yields dropped sharply.

Under normal condition, the yield of grain harvest could reach 80 kilogram per 100 square meters. Having been struck by weeds, the harvest reached maximally 40 kilograms per 100 square meters. This complaint stayed to be aggravated by decline in the price of rice where it recently only reached IDR 2,000 per kilogram. According to Adiasa, the cost of rice cultivation was quite expensive. His farmland of 2,000 square meters would spend IDR 1.5 million.

If the harvest yield was not maximal, this man would certainly go bankrupt or be unable to recoup.

Calamity of drop in yields was the second time. Previously, local farmers were made distraught due to the attack of plant hoppers. Even, until last Saturday (Aug 13) there were still some farmlands encountering crop failure as eaten by plant hoppers. Aside from plant hoppers, farmers also fought against sparrows perching on the weeds. If they were

not protected, those flocks of bird would gobble the grains.

Meanwhile, Division Head of Tabanan Improvement of Food Crops and Horticulture, Made Suweta, explained the rampant weeds were triggered by late weeding work carried out by farmers. Ideally, he said, the weeding should be performed at least three times during a planting season. “If carried out late, the weeds will overtake the rice plants as happening now,” he said in the midst of field inspection to have a closer look at the condition of rice plant affected by the weeds.

Based on data of Tabanan Agricultural Agency, the total land area at Sanggulan Village reached about 80 hectares.

This official also suggested farmers to routinely perform the weeding when planting rice because the weeds could grow quickly. After planting rice, farmers were advised to cultivate soybean to change the cropping patterns.

“We have provided every farmer with the seeds,” he concluded. (udi)

The plan to rearrange North Denpasar Agung Market will be ongoing soon where sellers will be relocated in the mid month taken step by step to the east side of the market. “Relocation will start at 15th August for first step and second step on 22nd August,” Head of Denapsar Industrial and Trade Agency , I Wayan Gatra, announced last Friday (12/8).

It is explained the sellers that will be relocated are at least 257 sellers in kiosks and los while unattached sellers will go on the north near to the Pura Dalem. Gatra mentioned the revitalisation of this market were thought by a group of five friends where the budget they offer starting from IDR 5.9 billion to IDR 8 billion. Gatra stated the tender process now is on evaluation yet Gatra admitted those who offer above limit could not get in as there were lower ones. “So we don’t know who wins it as it is still evaluated,” he explained accompanied by Head of the Market, Nyoman Suwarta.

Gatra added that the revitalisation is part of the central government’s program through Trade Ministry. They chose this market as it is a strategic place and a reminder of a traditional market. It also has high transaction results and so it can become an example and has been one of the best 10 example market to the people of Indonesia this year 2011. According to Gatra a traditional market are many managed by the people itself and go along with the local also national economy which so traditional markets should be able to compete well in its appearance and giving comfort to the customers. Suwarta added that right now there are around 338 unattached sellers and 257 kiosk sellers above 8300 square meters land. “The revitalisation won’t decrease the sellers, it might even increase it,” Suwarta concluded. (kmb12).

City Green Open Space, The Lungs and Water Absorbent Area Needs Protection Denpasar (Bali Post) –

City Green Open Space (RTHK) needs to be protected from its decrease, stated by Udayana University (Unud) Agriculture Faculty Great Teacher, Prof. Dr. Dewa Ngurah Suprapta and Ngurah Rai University (UNR) Lecturer, Ir. Ketut Witarka Yudiata, MT, last Friday (12/8). They reminded how strategic these open spaces are especially as the city’s lung (green belt) and water absorbent area (catchment area) especially in the rainy season. “With the increasing urbanity of course it’s hard to defend RTHK lands above what’s regulated as changing function of lands can’t be avoided. To prevent it decreasing sharply, it needs to be protected with rules and regulations,” Dewa Suprapta explained.

Suprapta continued saying RTHK includes agriculture lands which has a great way in preserving water and for unused lands should be used well for greenery remembering some farmers are having difficulties on getting farming lands. Meanwhile Yudiata who is expert of Gianyar House of Representatives and Former Dean of Agriculture Faculty at UNR stated logically spatial planning is living environment arrangement including activity space in three dimensional ways from air, water and soil. Without air, human will die in three minutes, without water human will die in three days and without soil human will die in three years. RTHK will balance those and so a document on spatial planning needs to be done, officialised and clarified. Government needs to give incentive and disincentive (lessen or free tax) on places that are RTHK to start of from having lands changing functions again. Most simple way would be to have them go back to what it was. (08)

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Bali News

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

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Offenders of investment in Bali

Enforcement imposed half-heartedly Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Bali has become the target of capital owners to invest. Bali Investment Board (BPM) recorded that until the second quarter of 2011, the total investment coming to Bali reached IDR 4.4 trillion. The figure indicated that 97 percent of them laid in the tertiary sector, especially in the field of tourism that remained a leading sector. Unfortunately, many of those capital owners did not comply with the rules. One of them related to the height of hotel building and the matter of coastal boundary lines.

Dean of Faculty of Law, Udayana University, Prof. Dr. IGN Wairocana, judged that such violation occurred due to weakness in the law enforcement, especially in the field supervision. On that account, violation against the Regional Regulation No. 16/2009 concerning with the Bali Spatial Planning (RTRWP) could not be detected. “In addition to weak supervision, the existing law enforcement officials show an impression if they can be bribed. Evidently, many violations are not touched by the law,” said IGN Wairocana in Denpasar, Friday (Aug 12).

According to him, commitment of government to uphold the law remained half-hearted. The rules that should protect ultimately turned powerless. Government should oversee the investors from licensing process until the project could be executed.

“The existing rules will be redundant if commitment of government and community in upholding the law and complying with all provisions is half-hearted. Permission is granted without any controls, so what is filed is much different from the realization,” he said.

Furthermore, he said that government should have courage to take decisive action against all existing violations in order to create a deterrent effect. “Violating hotel buildings must be demolished. By doing so, those who will invest in Bali will be thinking twice to break the laws,” he said.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesia Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) of Badung Chapter, IGN Rai Suryawijaya, previously also admitted the weakness of supervision made by government in enforcing the rules. Almost in all regencies/city could be encountered spatial violations, whether regarded to coastal or river boundary lines, wetland or sacred zone encroachment, and the emergence of various buildings that did not comply with the designation area such as hotel, villa, settlement or building for business activities.

So far, the Regional Regulation (Perda) and other rules concerning with the sustainability of Bali seemed powerless because the existing government was too much discoursing rather than taking concrete action. “They should have been more concerned in enforcing the rules for the future of Bali,” he said.

Meanwhile, Division Head of Bali Capital Investment Assessment (BPM), Suta Astawa, asserted that capital owners who wanted to invest in Bali had to have permits. “There is a building permit that must be met by investors before building. If they are found violating in the development stage, we are confident if they actually have not had the permit,” he said.

It was added that government would take decisive action against the violations of investment. “They may invest in Bali, but must comply with the existing rules,” he concluded. (par)

Post Eid, Illegal Money Changer Will Be Raid Mangupura (Bali Post) –

Illegal money changers seemed not to know its fault. Even though Badung Government have given a shock therapy by giving a sudden raid not long time ago, seemed some still is operating. Badung join team now plans to do another one after the coming Eid as Head of Badung Secretariat Economy Section, I Ketut Sudarsana, last Friday (12/8) explained.

For legality of money changer it can be seen when there’s a com-

plain from tourists on legal ones, the government can find its office or transaction place as official ones have one yet for illegal ones they would have a board outside and hides when there are government workers around. From the data he has, illegal ones are usually around Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. For this raid Badung Government are working with Badung Police Civil Service, Bank Indonesia, and APVA also police involvement for further disciplinary. (kmb25)

IBP/File

The Hindus pray during the ritual at Tambakan Village in Buleleng Regency.

Tambakan Village

Preserving tradition of releasing cows to wild nature BULELENG Regency is indeed rich in unique and meaningful traditions. At Tambakan Village, Kubutambahan Subdistrict, for example, local residents still maintain their tradition of releasing calf to wild nature. Those calves are allowed to live freely in the forest where no one dares to capture them. Then, every two years, precisely on full moon in the first month of Balinese calendar (around July), those adult cows are caught by customary villagers to be slaughtered as an offering in the ceremonies.

The calves released to wild nature are dedicated by Tambakan customary villagers as payment of vow because their invocation has been fulfilled. The payment of vow is not only carried out by local residents of Tambakan, but also residents from outside the Tambakan Village. The vow must be paid on black moon. On that account, there are always many residents who pay their vow on black moon and consequently the number of calves roaming around the in the wild nature can reach tens.

Chief of Tambakan Customary Village, Jero Nyarikan Komang Nita, said the tradition of presenting calf as payment of vow had taken place for generations at the

village. The residents who paid a vow had invoked something previously. When it had been fulfilled, they paid the vow in the form of calf which was then released to the wild nature. Invocation of local residents varied, ranging from asking for job opportunity, success in business, success in politics until recovery from illness.

Interestingly, the calf released did not just roam around the area of Tambakan Village. They were also often found wandering outside the region such as in Kintamani, Bangli, and in the forests and villages of Badung Regency. By and large, residents outside the village had known that such wandering cows belonged to

Tambakan Village and they did not dare to arrest those cows of vow. They believed if those cows were sacred cow and had been regarded as a deity. They were afraid of something bad happened if they were determined to catch the cows.

However, the cows could only be captured when Mungkah Wali ceremony was held in the Prajapati Temple of Tambakan Village regularly carried out every two years. Once captured, the local residents would slaughter them and the beef would be dedicated to deity venerated in the Prajapati Temple. Meanwhile, remnants of the beef were then distributed to residents. (ole)

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News

Monday, August 15, 2011

International

Police slam Britain’s wooing of US crime adviser Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Police tensions flared Saturday over Britain’s recruitment of a veteran American police commander to advise the government on how to combat gangs and prevent a repeat of the past week’s riots and looting.

Leaders of the police unions in London and the northwest city of Manchester criticized the appointment of William Bratton, former commander of the police forces in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, as an insulting stunt.

Their criticism follows rising friction between Prime Minister David Cameron and senior British police officers over whether the government, or the police, deserve credit for bringing four days of riots under control.

“America polices by force. We don’t want to do that in this country,” said Paul Deller of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which

represents more than 30,000 officers in the British capital.

Deller, a 25-year Met officer, accused the government of not being serious about following Bratton’s recipe for reducing crime.

“When Mr. Bratton was in New York and Los Angeles, the first thing he did was to increase the number of police on the street, whereas we’ve got a government that wants to do exactly the opposite,” he said, referring to Britain’s commitment to slash law enforcement spending as part of debt reduction efforts.

Ian Hanson, chairman of the federation’s Manchester branch,

said local officers knew better how to police their own communities than “someone who lives 5,000 miles away.”

Police have been on the defensive over their slow initial response to riots that rapidly spread Aug. 6 from the north London district of Tottenham to several London flashpoints and, eventually, to several other English cities. Cameron also criticized their tactics as too passive and announced Friday his government would receive policy advice from the 63-year-old Bratton, who resigned as Los Angeles police commissioner in 2009 after overseeing strong reductions in gang-related crime in all three of his commands.

Five people were killed during England’s riots, including a 26-yearold man shot to death in his car and a 68-year-old man beaten to death after arguing with rioters and trying to extinguish a fire they had set.

This image made from amateur video and released by Shams News Network and accessed via The Associated Press Television News on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, shows a long shot of military vehicles on road, near Latakia, Syria.

AP Photo/Shams News Network, via APTN

Syrian tank, army sweeps against protesters kill 5 Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT — Syrian tanks, security agents and pro-regime gunmen fanned out into the streets of several towns to root out protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad in a sweep Saturday that killed at least five people.

The heaviest assault was in the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia, where a day earlier thousands had turned out in protests.

At least 20 tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the city’s el-Ramel neighborhood amid intense gunfire that sent many residents fleeing the area, according to Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Later in the day, shooting and explosions were heard in another neighborhood,

Slaibeh, according to the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, an activist group that documents protests in Syria.

Two people were killed in the shooting, the LCC and the observatory reported. Amateur videos posted on the Internet by activists showed armored personnel carriers moving down what was said to be the streets of Latakia.

Also on Saturday, scores of security agents and pro-government gunmen, known as Shabiha, entered the town of Qusair near the border with Lebanon and several nearby villages, arresting scores of residents, AbdulRahman said. The LCC said one person was killed in the shooting. The LCC and observatory said one person was also killed in security raids in Daraya, a suburb of the capital Damascus. One person was also killed in the central city of Hama according to LCC.

AP Photo/Stefan Rosseau, pool

British Prime Minister David Cameron talks to Acting Borough Police Commander Superintendent Jo Oakley, centre, and an unidentified Fire Brigade officer, in front of a burned out building in Croydon, south London, Tuesday Aug. 9, 2011, where he saw damage to shops and residences carried out by rioters.

Michele Bachmann wins Iowa Republican test Reuters

AMES, Iowa - Michele Bachmann narrowly won the Iowa straw poll of Republicans on Saturday in the first big test of the 2012 presidential campaign, as Texas Governor Rick Perry formally launched a White House bid that could reshape the race.

Bachmann, a representative from Minnesota, edged out Ron Paul, another representative, and rolled over the rest of the Republican field to capture the nonbinding Iowa mock election, a traditional early gauge of organizational strength in the state that holds the first 2012 nominating contest.

Bachmann won 4,823 votes to Paul’s 4,671. Tim Pawlenty, who had focused on a strong showing in the straw poll to rescue his struggling campaign, finished a distant

third with 2,293 votes in a bruising setback.

In South Carolina, Perry formally jumped into the race with a blistering attack on President Barack Obama.

“We cannot afford four more years of this rudderless leadership,” Perry told a conference of conservatives, promising to reduce taxes, regulations and government intrusion in people’s lives.

The straw poll and Perry’s campaign launch, coming less than six months before Iowa’s nominating contest, promised to reshuffle the Republican field fighting for the nomination to challenge Obama, a Democrat, in 2012.

Perry, a staunch social conservative with a strong job creation record in Texas, is expected to immediately vault into the top tier of contenders along with front-runner former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Perry visits Iowa on Sunday.

Perry finished sixth in the straw poll with 718 write-in votes even though he was not on the ballot. That was more than Romney, who was on the ballot and received 567 votes even though he did not participate.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., reacts to a group of supporters as emerges from her campaign bus after winning the Republican Party’s Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.

International

Activities

Monday, August 15, 2011

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Classically cool at Tugu Bali IBP

Hotel Tugu Bali proudly brings a rare opportunity to experience the mystique of an almost-vanished music and dance performance from the early 20th century, through a series of Pelegongan performances by Mekar Bhuana Conservatory.

Pelegongan is a form of gamelan choreography that was used to accompany Legong dance. It is vastly different to the contemporary, vibrant gamelan performances that are presented in most ceremonies and hotels.

Pelegongan has a unique rhythm that is clear, soothing and melodic to the ear.

The first Pelegongan gamelan recording in Bali occurred in 1928. It was organized by Walter Spies and orchestrated by I Wayan Lotring. Unfortunately, Pelegongan has since been incorporated and diluted into the modern type of gamelan performance.

Today, the tradition of Pelegongan is being kept alive by the Mekar Bhuana Conservatory. Through dedication and hard work, Mekar Bhuana exposes and has re-popularized court gamelan and dance traditions through education and awareness.

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for August 7 through August 30, 2011 7 Aug Redite Paing Pahang Pasek Toh Jiwa Kekeran - Mengwi -Badung Pasek Sadra Peguyangan - Badung

15 Aug Soma Keliwon Krulut Pasel Gelgel Kekeran Temple Mngwi Badung Merajan Pasek Subadra Temple Kramas-Gianyar

9 Aug Anggara Wage Pahang Batu Madeg (Meru Tumpang Sanga) Besakih Hyang Tibha Batuan Sakah

20 Aug Tumpek Krurut Pasek Gelgel Temple Br Tengah Buleleng Dalem Pemuteran Temple Jelantik Tojan - Klungkung Pedarmaan Bhujangga W. Temple Besakih Taman Sari Temple Gunungsari Penebel - Tabanan Dalem Tarukan Temple Bebalang Bangli Benua Kangin Temple Besakih Merajan Kanginan Temple Besakih

10 aug Buda Keliwon Pahang Luhur Puncak Padang Dawa Baturiti Tabanan Silayukti Temple Padangbai-Karangasem Aer Jeruk Sukawati Dangin Pasar Batuan-Sukawati Penataran Temple Batuyang-Batubulan Desa Lembeng Ketewel-Sukawati Pasek Bendesa Dukuh-Kediri-Tabanan Kawitan Dalem Sukawati Gianyar Kresek Banyuning-Buleleng Puseh Temple Bebandem-Karangasem Merajan Pasek Kubayan-Gaji Merajan pasek Gelgel Jeroan Abang-Songan Merajan Pasek Subrata Temaga Merajan Pasek Gelgel Bungbungan Sad Kahyangan Batu Medahu. S Nusa Penida Buda Kliwon Penatih-Denpasar Penataran Dukuh Nagasari Bebandem Karangasem Pasek Bendesa Temple Tagtag Paguyangan Pulasari Temple Sibang Gede Abiansemal Batur Sari Temple Ubud Penataran Agung Temple Sukawati 13 Aug Purnama Karo Gelap Temple Besakih Dangkahyangan Temple Pengukur-ukur Pejeng Merajan Gerya Temple Kebon Tabanan Candi Goro Temple Tianyar-Kubu Karangasem Ponjok Batu Temple Tejakula-Buleleng

21 Aug Redite Umanis Merakih Parangan Tengah Temple Ceningan Kangin - Lembongan Dalem Temple Celuk Sukawati - Gianyar 24 Aug Buda Wage Merakih Bendesa Mas Kepisah Temple Pedungan - Denpasar Selatan Natih Temple Banjar Kalah - Batubulan Puseh. Temple Silakarang - Singapadu dalem Petitenget Temple Kerobokan - Kuta Dalem Pulasari Temple Samplangan - Gianyar Kubayan - Kepisah Temple Pedungan - Denpasar - Selatan Pasek gelgel Temple Banjar Tanahpegat - Tabanan Paibon Banjar Bengkel Sumerta - Denpasar Pasek Temple Lumintang - Denpasar Panti Penyarikan Medahan Sanding - Tampaksiring Pasar Agung Temple Kaba-kaba - Tabanan 30 Aug Anggar Kasih Tambir Dalem Puri Batuan Temple Sukawati Dalem Kediri Temple Silakarang - Singapadu Dalem Temple Sukawati Dalem Temple Singakerta - Ubud dalem Lembeng Temple Ketewel - Sukawati Paibon Pasek Tangkas Temple Peliatan - Ubud

Balinese Temple Ceremony EVERY Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali.

There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

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

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

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

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

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Monday, August 15, 2011

News Germany marks construction of the Berlin Wall Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Khin Maung Win

Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, center, is surrounded by supporters after she cuts a ribbon to open the Aung San Jar-mon Library on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011, in Bago, northeast of Yangon, Myanmar.

Cheers in Myanmar as Suu Kyi travel tests freedom

BERLIN — The Berlin Wall’s construction 50 years ago must be a constant reminder to citizens today to stand up for freedom and democracy, the city’s mayor said Saturday as a united Germany commemorated the bitter anniversary.

Seeing Berlin divided by the wall tore apart the country as well as separating the city’s streets, neighbors and families, mayor Klaus Wowereit said at a televised ceremony.

“It is our shared responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass it on to the coming generations as a reminder to stand up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again,” Wowereit said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who grew up behind the wall in Germany’s communist eastern part — also attended the commemoration in Berlin, where parts of the wall and an attached surveillance tower now form a museum.

The road where the museum is located was divided in two on August 13, 1961, and some 2,000 east German residents were expelled from their houses to allow the communist authorities to secure the new border.

The country was then divided for 28 years. Hundreds of east Germans were arrested while trying to flee to democratic Western Germany and at least 136 were killed trying to cross the wall.

German President Christian Wulff said the “life-asphyxiating wall” must be a reminder to appreciate and preserve the “openness of today’s world.”

Germany had been divided into capitalist western and communist eastern sectors after the end of World War II. At the height of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the East German regime started building the wall through the capital.

East Germany’s entire border was soon fortified, making West Berlin an island of democracy and freedom behind the communist bloc’s iron curtain.

“But it has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end.

No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom,” Wulff said.

A nun walks in front of a line of wreaths during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse in Berlin, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.

Associated Press Writer

BAGO, Myanmar — Thousands of well-wishers lined roadsides in Myanmar to welcome opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she tested the limits of her freedom Sunday by taking her first political trip into the countryside since being released from house arrest.

The military-dominated country’s government had warned that the democracy icon’s journey could trigger riots, but it took place peacefully in two towns north of the main city of Yangon.

The last time the democracy icon traveled out of Yangon to meet supporters, assailants ambushed her entourage. She escaped harm but was detained and placed under seven years of house arrest, from which she was only released last November.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi opened public libraries in Bago, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Yangon, and the nearby town of Thanatpin, where she addressed hundreds of supporters in a 10minute speech calling for unity and asking people to continue to support her political party.

She also urged them to persevere despite economic hardships that have forced many to seek jobs

abroad.

She made a similar speech in Bago, implying that true democratic change will take time.

“I know what the people want and I am trying my best to fulfill the wishes of the people,” she said.

“However, I don’t want to give false hope.”

Earlier in Bago during a visit to a pagoda, crowds shouted “Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” Ma Thuza, a 35-year-old woman watching the scene, said, “I can die happily now that I’ve seen her.”

Suu Kyi traveled in a three-car convoy followed by about 27 more vehicles — filled mostly with journalists and supporters. Security agents, with wireless microphones protruding from their civilian clothes, monitored each stop she made.

Thousands of people lined the roadsides to catch a glimpse of Suu

Kyi’s convoy as it passed by, some cheering and waving. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate stopped several times, and well-wishers handed her red roses and jasmine flowers.

Win Htein, a leader of Suu Kyi’s party, said the trip was crucial because it “will test the reaction of the authorities and will test the response of the people.”

“This trip will be a test for everything,” Htein said.

One of her party’s spokesman, Nyan Win, said more trips will follow, but neither the dates nor the destinations have been decided, Win said.

After half a century of army rule, the country formerly known as Burma organized elections late last year and officially handed power to a civilian administration in March.

But critics say the new government, led by retired military figures, is a proxy for continued military rule and that little has changed.

Photo/Markus Schreiber

Indonesia...

From page 1 He returned to Indonesia in 2009 to join Dulmatin, another Bali cohort who was setting up a regional terror cell dubbed Al-Qaeda in Aceh at the time. Police killed Dulmatin shortly afterwards.

“Umar Patek knew of the goings-on in Aceh (province). We hope that now he’s here, we can find out who else is in his network so we can go after them,” Alam said.

Patek, 41, may not be charged under Indonesia’s tough anti-terror law because his alleged crimes were committed before it was introduced.

Even so he could face the death penalty for multiple murder counts.

As the last Bali mastermind still

on the run, Patek was one of Asia’s most wanted terror suspects and a $1 million bounty on his head under the US rewards for justice programme.

He was arrested with his Filipina wife, who is also in Indonesian custody for allegedly travelling on a false Indonesian passport.

Indonesian officials are hoping Patek will give valuable information on JI and other Southeast Asian terror networks.

Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said previously there was information that he had been trying to meet bin Laden in Abbottabad before his arrest on January 25, but this has not been confirmed.

Indonesia Today

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

7

Indonesia bank chief denies suspending bank purchases Agence France-Presse

AP Photo/Trisnadi

Villagers prepare to catch offerings thrown by worshippers with their sarongs during the Kasada festival at the crater of Mount Bromo, in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011. Every year people gathered for the annual festival where offerings of rice, fruit, vegetables, livestock or money are made to Hindu gods at the active volcano to ask for blessings and assure a bountiful harvest.

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution denied reports that permit for investors to buy local banks had been suspended pending new rules on ownership caps.

“Acquisition processes can still continue,” Nasution was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires on Friday.

Bank Indonesia spokesman Difi Johansyah had earlier said the issuance of permits to purchase banks had been suspended until a decision was made about new investment rules.

“Hopefully the regulation can be issued later this year,” he said.

The proposed regulation is designed to improve prudential practices in commercial banks by preventing a single investor dominating management. Single investors currently can own up to 99 percent

of local banks.

The restriction would apply to local as well as foreign investors but analysts say it could especially hit offshore interest in the local banking market and force some foreign players to sell their majority stakes.

Interest in the local banking sector has grown thanks to Indonesia’s booming economy, with growth expected to reach about seven percent this year, and the related expansion of its domestic consumer market.

“This type of regulatory move on the part of our government is coming at a really bad moment considering Indonesia is getting so much attention from investors,” Indonesian Chamber of Commerce chief Suryo Sulisto told the Financial Times last week.

“I am afraid that it will throw the market for a loop and deter future foreign investment.”

Fugitive former lawmaker returns to Indonesia Asscociated Press Writer

JAKARTA — A former Indonesian lawmaker returned Saturday after three months as a fugitive to face corruption charges in a case that has riveted the nation and tested its reputation in fighting graft.

Muhammad Nazaruddin, the governing Democratic Party’s former treasurer, was captured last week in Colombia after fleeing Indonesia three months ago. He has denied charges that he accepted $3 million in bribes from a company contracted to build an athletes’ village for this year’s Southeast Asian Games.

Before his extradition, Nazaruddin called local newspapers and TV news stations to say he was ready to expose corruption elsewhere within the governing party.

The case — which underlines Indonesia’s challenge in changing its graft-ridden image — has threatened the credibility of the party’s founder, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose 2009 campaign for re-election presented him as the “Mr. Clean” of Indonesian politics.

Hundreds of people have been arrested for alleged corruption since Yudhoyono took office, though critics note high-ranking officials have largely been left alone.

Nazaruddin was immediately

taken into custody after landing in Jakarta on a flight from Bogota, the Anti-Corruption Commission said. The president has ordered that Nazaruddin receive full protection, while authorities investigate the Games scandal. No trial date has been set.

Indonesia emerged only recently from a 32-year dictatorship under Gen. Suharto, whose family was accused of corruption to the tune of $600 million.

Graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin, center, is escorted by police officers as he steps out from the plane upon arrival from Colombia, at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.

AP Photo

Secret Indonesia files on Papua guerrilla ‘threat’ Indonesia warns tourists US democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, Archbishop Tutu, British Labour member of parliament Andrew away from smoking volcano A confidential report on Papuan separatists prepared by Desmond Smith and ex-Papua New Guinea leader Michael Somare are Agence France-Presse

Associated Press Writer

BANDUNG — Indonesian officials have warned people to stay more than a mile (two kilometers) from two craters on a smoking volcano spewing noxious gas.

Government volcanologist Surono says visitors and villagers have been told to stay away from the yellow craters on the 2,665-meter (8,743-foot) Mount Papandayan. The craters are tourist attractions but are now emiting dangerous hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide gases.

Surono, who uses only one name, said Saturday that authorities raised the volcano’s alert to the second-highest level.

Papandayan in West Java province is one of Indonesia’s most popular peaks to climb. It last erupted in 2002.

Indonesia lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Indonesia’s elite Kopassus military unit claimed armed groups stood ready for guerrilla war but had proof of just one weapon for every 10 men.

The report “Anatomy of Papuan Separatists” was published

by Australia’s Fairfax newspapers Saturday, and claimed the people of the resource-rich eastern province were “easily influenced by separatist ideas”.

“Irrational demands for customary rights to land and limited transportation infrastructure (have) hampered economic growth,” the report said.

“Obedience and loyalty of Papuans towards their customary/ religious leaders is very high, to the point that it has primacy over law and creates opportunities for horizontal conflict.”

Based on extensive surveillance operations in the special autonomous region, home to some 2.7 million people, the report contains dossiers on key figures in the Papuan independence movement, and lists its international sympathisers.

among the large group of alleged “Free Papua” allies.

The list includes politicians, academics, journalists, aid workers and religious leaders. Kopassus, an elite special unit accused of widespread abuse mostly under the rule of the late Indonesian dictator Suharto, said there were armed agitators “experienced and able to conduct a guerrilla war/survive in the forest, spread throughout almost every regency in Papua.”

But they numbered just 1,129 and had 131 weapons and four grenades between them, the report said.

The Kopassus report maps the main resistance groups, their past actions, and their alleged ringleaders, and is among hundreds of intelligence briefs obtained by Fairfax showing significant surveillance of the restive region on the western half of the island of New Guinea. About 10,000 Papuans protested for independence from Indonesia earlier this month in the provincial capital Jayapura, calling for a referendum before a heavily armed police presence.

8

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bali Today More Indian tourists coming to Bali Antara

IBP/Net

Tourists sunbathing in Dreamland Beach. The number of French tourists visiting Bali in the first half of 2011 reached 45,473, a 7.73 percent increase compared to 42,211 in the same period last year.

French tourist arrivals in Bali up 7.73 percent Antara

DENPASAR - The number of French tourists visiting Bali in the first half of 2011 reached 45,473, a 7.73 percent increase compared to 42,211 in the same period last year.

“Most of them came to Bali via Ngurah Rai Airport by direct flights from their country. Only 25 went to Bali by cruise liner,” Head of the Bali Provincial Statistics Office I Gede Suarsa said.

Last year, a total of 104.029 French tourists visited Bali, down 8.31 percent from the year before when the figure was 113,453, he said.

“France ranks ninth among the top ten sources of foreign tourists visiting Bali, contributing 3.49 percent of the overall tourist arrivals in Bali over the period,” he said.

He said more than 1.3 million foreign tourists visited the prov-

ince in the January-June 2011 period, up 10.46 percent from the same period last year.

France was one of the potential markets for the Balinese tourism and therefore, efforts to promote the tourism industry to the country needed to be intensified by means of arts mission, among others, he said.

A 30-strong Balinese arts troupe left for France late last month to take part in a cultural attraction.

Gede Suarsa said the number of tourists from eight of top ten sources of the province’s foreign tourist arrivals rose significantly in the first semester of 2011.

Tourist arrivals from Australia rose 29.33 percent from 278,049 to 348,489, China 8.29 percent from 98,258 to 106,400, Malaysia 20.56 percent from 69,251 to 83,491 and South Korea 0.99 percent from 59,384 to 59,971.

Tourist arrivals from Singapore increased 34.19 percent from 41,483 to 65,66, Britain 25.86 percent from 38,526 to 48,489, France 7.73 percent from 42,211 to 45,473 and the United States 24.15 percent from 33,268 to 41,303.

However, tourist arrivals from Japan fell 26 percent to 88,605 from 119,731 and Taiwan 0.35 percent to 65,360 from 65,589.

DENPASAR - The number of Indian tourists to Bali is increasing, an observer said here on Saturday.

Bali tourism observer Tjokorda Gede Agung attributed the rise to among others cultural similarities that the Balinese and Indian societies shares.

He said naturally people are always curious to know similarities with their culture found in other places including in Bali.

The Bali provincial administration indeed had conducted tourism promotion in India recently which was possibly another factor that drove the rise, he said.

A total of 27,013 Indian tourists visited Bali from January to July which was higher than 21,065 of the same period last year.

The trend was in line with the expectation of tourism minister Jero Wacik who in a recent visit to Bali called for increasing promotion to India to target the rich in that emerging market in view of their Hindu cultural similarities with those of the Balinese.

Gede Agung said in view of the good relations between the two countries followed by cultural cooperation between Bali and India he hoped more rich people from India would come to Bali.

The emergence of Indian cultural centers such as yoga centers that invite trainees from India is expected to also help promote Bali, he said.

He said many Balinese have also been conducting pilgrimage to Maduban, which is the center of Brahma Kumaris Studies that teaches yoga, recently.

He hoped the exchange of visits would help increase further the number of tourists from India to Bali.

Cervical cancer vaccination program Schools serve as primary target Based on raw data on cervical cancer cases in Bali, it is recorded that two women die of cervical cancer in three days. The data also indicate that cases of cervical cancer receiving treatment are patients with advanced stage. “If it has entered an advanced stage, cerviIBP/kmb One of students got cervical vaccina- cal cancer is very tion during the the launching of cervi- difficult to be treated or precal cancer vaccination program. vented,” said Made Suyasa Jaya, Chairman of the Indonesian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (POGI).

As a matter of fact, cervical cancer could be prevented if it was still in the stage of pre-lesion. Moreover, there had been now a vaccine for cervical cancer recommended for all women. Suyasa added that to reach Bali free from cervical cancer by 2020, it was required the launching of cervical cancer vaccination program. As an initial action, it had been held an education on cervical cancer in Tunas Daud School participated by 68 teenage girls.

Furthermore, Suyasa explained that implementation of the vaccination and teenage reproductive health education program in Denpasar was the result of synergy of many parties such as the Indonesian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Denpasar Chapter as a medical association knowing about the issue, Denpasar Health Services and the Mayor of Denpasar. He revealed that school-based vaccination and education on teenage reproductive health program in Denpasar was the first one conducted in Bali. “Today we are moving through the education sector to build early awareness of the importance of cervical cancer prevention for teenagers,” explained Suyasa.

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

Balinese Culture Garuda increases SurabayaDenpasar flight frequency Antara

SURABAYA - National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will increase its Surabaya-Denpasar flight frequency from to anticipate increasing passengers during Lebaran holiday exodus, Garuda spokesman Ismu Gito Waluyo said.

“Normally Garuda flight frequency from Surabaya to Denpasar is four times per day but we will increase it to five times per day in the run up to Lebaran holiday exodus,” Ismu said.

He said the increase of Garuda‘s Surabaya-Denpasar flight frequency would be effective on August 27 and 28, 2011.

“The fleet we will operate to meet the market demand is the Boeing 373-800 air planes,” Ismu said, adding that Garuda would operate only one unit of Boeing 373-800 because it had a big loading capacity.

He said Boeing 373-800 aircraft could carry 150 pas-

sengers of economic class and 12 passengers of business class.

According to him, the additional flight frequency was for Surabaya-Denpasar route only while for the other routes the flight frequency would remain the same as that in normal days.

Ismu said Gadura has 16 flights per day from Surabaya to Jakarta while for Surabaya-Ambon, Surabaya-Makassar, and Surabaya-Balikpapan respectively had one flight per day.

“The average load factor for all routes including Surabaya-Jakara has reached 80 percent,” he said, adding that there would be no increase in ticket prices during Lebaran holiday exodus.

He pointed out that Surabaya-Denpasar tickets ranged from Rp800 to Rp1.3 million per passenger and Surabaya-Jakarta tickets from Rp500,000 to Rp1.3 million per passenger.

Batun Bedil Ingredients * Rice Cakes 1 cup glutinous rice flour * ½ cup tapioca starch * ¾ cup water * ¼ tsp. salt Directions To make Rice Cake: Place rice flour and tapioca starch in a deep mixing bowl and make a well in the center.

Add water and salt, mix well and knead dough until it can be rolled and shaped. Dough should not be to dry.

Roll small rice cakes ½-inch in diameter. Cut diagonally 1-inch in length.

IBP/Net

Bring 8 cups of water to a oil. Put it the rice cakes, bring back to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and set the rice cakes aside.

Ingredients * Sauce 3 cups water * 1 cup coconut milk * ½ cup palm sugar syrup * 1 pandan leaf * Pinch of salt Directions To make the sauce: Combine water, coconut milk, palm sugar, pandan leaf, and a pinch of salt in a small stockpot. Bring to a boil.

Add rice cakes and simmer for 20 minutes.

Cool and serve at room temperature, topped with a tablespoon of fresh grated coconut.

Helpful hints: When preparing the rice cakes, use the amount of water given in the recipe only as a guideline; the quality of flour varies greatly and affects the amount of liquid it absorbs. Add sufficient water to result in a soft, smooth dough. If the rice cakes are dry when shaped, they will be very tough after cooking. (http:// asiarecipe.com)

C.045 ibp

9

10

Monday, August 15, 2011

Destinations

International

Beratan Lake IBP

Beratan Lake is a shallow lake with the high caldera about 1231m above sea level and it is located at Bedugul, the famous tourist destinations in Bali. This lake have wide 3,8 km2 and also its deepness is up to 22 meters. The water volume in this lake is about 0,049 km3, so Beratan Lake is the closed lake.

Tourist can access the Beratan Lake through the dock which have been provided or desist around Ulun Danu Beratan Temple.

In this place, the visitor can do various activities like doing recreation to look around in dock or do the other outdoor activities.

The various water recreation activities can also be conducted here, for example riding the boat motorize to circle the lake, parasailing, canoeing with the traditional boat, banana boating, water skiing, and others. Fishing activities are also available in this places for who one love fishing in the lake.

Beratan Lake is situated in the plateau area with cool atmosphere surround it. It is an ideal place for relaxation while enjoy the beautiful panorama of lake. The accommodations are also available in this area where is the perfect place for overnight stay, resting and enjoy the beautiful panoramic of lake with the Ulun Danu Temple as a magnificence. The small scale of agriculture activities are likely conducted around this lake and can be perceived at the same time circle around it. If we encircle it, we can take photograph with the beautiful background view or make the picture sketch face in painting mini studio at the lakeside with a short time as a souvenir.

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Monday, August 15, 2011

11

BUSINESS Italy delivers tough austerity measures Reuters

ROME - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced a painful mix of tax increases and spending cuts on Friday to meet European Central Bank demands for action on shoring up Italy’s strained public finances.

At an emergency evening cabinet meeting, the government adopted an austerity package worth 20 billion euros ($28.5 billion) in 2012 and a further 25.5 billion euros the following year to bring the budget into balance in 2013.

The measures ranged from a special levy on incomes above 90,000 euros to higher taxes on income from financial investments and cuts in the cost of government, notably through a cull in the number of local politicians.

The ECB demanded accelerated deficit cuts from Italy as a condition for buying its bonds on the market after a sell-off sent Italian borrowing costs soaring and threatened to put the euro zone’s debt crisis on a new, unmanageable plane.

Berlusconi, who frequently boasts of “never putting his hand in the pockets of Italians”, said he agreed to the tax increases only reluctantly and the decision made his “heart drip blood”.

“We are personally very pained to have to adopt these measures,” he told reporters after the cabinet had approved the plan.

After days of criticism for a lack of clarity over how it intended to meet the balanced budget target, Berlusconi and Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti delivered a harsh dose of austerity for Italy’s fragile economy.

Before the announcement, Italy’s biggest unions had pledged to oppose measures which hurt ordinary Italians including pensioners.

“The tax hikes certainly won’t help the economy, which is already stagnating, and consumer confidence is sure to fall further,” said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight.

“The new fiscal measures appear to be credible, but the real problem is on the reform front. We need a timeline for measures to liberalize the service sector and labor markets.”

Barclays Capital cut its forecast

for Italian economic growth in 2012 to 0.7 percent, just over half the government’s official 1.3 percent forecast.

The package, adopted by emergency decree, must now be approved by parliament within 60 days. More details may emerge at a news conference called by Tremonti on 0900 GMT (5 p.m.

EDT) on Saturday.

Despite a huge public debt, Italy, the euro zone’s third largest economy, had kept out of the crisis until last month when doubts over its slack growth and the government’s ability to control finances triggered the selloff of Italian bonds.

“The austerity plan is not perfect but it’s probably the best we could have hoped for in the current political situation with resistance from inside and outside the ruling coalition, and considering they had to reformulate everything in a week,” said Chiara Corsa, an analyst with

UniCredit in Milan.

The extent of the cuts underlines how far the government has been pushed since markets turned on Italy last month, dragging it close to a Greek-style emergency.

Market panic has eased since the ECB stepped into the market, bringing Italian bond yields back down from the 14-year highs they hit last week but wild swings on the stock market have underlined the persistent fear among investors.

Tremonti said there was no alternative to the measures if markets were to be reassured, and added that his new deficit targets were prudent.

The budget deficit will fall to 1.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 from 3.8 percent this year, and be eliminated in 2013, he said.

In a sign of how much pain the steps will impose on ordinary Italians, regional government leaders, who will bear a large part of the cuts, condemned the measures as unjust.

“When you talk about municipalities, you’re talking about social services, when you talk about provinces, you’re talking about schools, security at school, local roads,” said Giuseppe Castiglione, head of the Union of Italian Provinces.

Berlusconi rejected the idea of a “wealth tax” on private assets but the planned “solidarity tax” on high earners is clearly aimed at showing that sacrifices are being shared.

The package imposes a 5 percent extra tax on income above 90,000 euros and 10 percent more tax on income above 150,000 euros, as well as increasing the tax rate on financial income to 20 percent from a current level of 12.5 percent.

Little detail was offered on measures to stimulate growth but Labor Minister Maurizio Sacconi said they included moves to make it easier to strike labor deals at the company or regional level, a key element in freeing up the rigid system of centralized contracts.

The plan also aims to curb tax evasion and brings forward measures to raise the retirement age for women in the private sector, originally programed to begin in 2020 but which will now start in 2016.

Additional measures include a rule ensuring that non-religious public holidays, such as the June 2 anniversary of the founding of the Italian Republic, are celebrated on a Sunday to increase the number of working days in a year.

Advertising slowing down with economy uncertain Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — While many businesses have been searching for signs of an economic recovery, big media conglomerates were enjoying a robust revival —until quite recently.

For the likes of Disney, CBS, NBCUniversal and News Corp., advertising revenue growth —which slumped during the Great Recession — had come roaring back in 2010. But now, as consumer sentiment dampens and the economy shows signs of another recession, ad revenue growth is beginning to slow again.

Two advertising agencies have cut forecasts in the past month. Media companies head into an uncertain final half of 2011, as investor worries have sent their stock prices tumbling.

“We’ve had this great advertising market, which everybody’s been benefiting from,” said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with media company research firm Wedge Partners. “The term I keep using is, ‘Is this as good as it gets?’”

In 2010, the mid-term congressional elections generated hundreds of millions of dollars in political ad spending. Retailers and auto compa-

nies increased their spending late last year, as well. That robustness a year ago will make it tough to show growth in the second half of this year.

Economic uncertainty will make it even tougher.

When the economy slows, advertising spending by companies does as well. The deepest trough in the ad market and in media companies’ stocks came in March 2009 as companies pulled back marketing expenditures and the U.S. economy collapsed. The Dow Jones Media Titans 30 Index, which tracks media company stocks, hit a low of 128.81 on March 9, 2009.

The index, whose top components include The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc., came back strongly as the economy rebounded, cresting at 300.78 on July 5 of this year.

But in recent days, economic news hasn’t been good. Consumer sentiment hit a historic low. Job growth is not enough to dramatically lower U.S. unemployment. And, the housing market remains in the doldrums.

At its close at 252.74 points on Friday, the index is down 16 percent from its peak.

ZenithOptimedia, a unit of advertising agency parent Publicis Groupe,

recently trimmed its forecast for ad spending growth in the U.S. in 2011 to 2.1 percent from 2.5 percent.

GroupM, the media investment management arm of marketing services company WPP, cut its outlook for global ad spending in 2011 to 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent. Its forecast for U.S. ad spending in 2011 is for 3.8 percent growth.

“There’s more caution that is creeping into the forecast, but still optimistic that there is growth,” said Antony Young, the former CEO of Optimedia US and incoming CEO of marketing company Mindshare NA. Not all ad spending was created equal. Money tends to flow to TV and its reliably large audiences, especially when ad budgets are tight. Broadcast television has given ground to the more targeted audiences that flock to pay TV. Radio, newspaper and magazine ads have steadily fallen while Internet spending, with its measurable clicks and sales, is on the rise.

Still, even dominant players such as Disney, which owns pay TV channel leader ESPN, have seen slippage.

Excluding such special events as the FIFA World Cup and NBA finals a year ago, Disney said this week that

ad revenue at ESPN was up 9 percent in the quarter through June, compared with a year ago. That’s slower than the 23 percent gain the previous quarter and the 27 percent gain the quarter before that.

Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal division saw ad revenue grow 10 percent from a year ago at cable channels including USA and Bravo in the three months through June. That’s also slower than the previous quarter. Comcast had reported a 14 percent growth from the previous year during the first quarter, when the cable company bought NBCUniversal from General Electric Co. “We’re obviously concerned about the economy the way you would expect us to be, but so far the advertising market continues to be strong,” NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke told analysts on a conference call last week.

Help is not far away. Next year, advertising experts expect a boost in spending because of the Olympics and the U.S. congressional and presidential races.

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London will largely benefit NBCUniversal, which paid $1.18 bil-

lion for the TV rights. The election will heavily favor Disney, News Corp., CBS and other owners of local TV stations, although News Corp.’s right-leaning Fox News Channel could score a double whammy from the Republican presidential primaries.

Overall U.S. ad spending, projected to be $148 billion this year, has not yet returned to the pre-recession level of $156 billion in 2007, according to GroupM. Even the predicted 4.2 percent growth to $154 billion in 2012 won’t match that high-water mark.

Reaching that peak could remain some years away. If the U.S. economy stumbles, next year’s forecast will need to be trimmed, said GroupM Chief Investment Officer Rino Scanzoni.

“When we put out our revised estimate in December, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to make some adjustments,” Scanzoni said. “Advertising spending pretty much parallels nominal (gross domestic product) growth. We have GDP that’s relatively anemic. If we don’t see a pickup, it will start impacting ad spending for 2012.”

12

Monday, August 15, 2011

Entertainment

International

3 Doors Down gets introspective on new album Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Multi-platinum rock band 3 Doors Down is moving forward by looking back. “The title of this album really kind of hits it on the head, ‘Time of My Life.’ It talks about a lot of things that went on in the past,” lead singer Brad Arnold said in a recent interview. “But it talks about a lot of more lighthearted things as well, and (there’s) a lot of fun songs on this record, too.”

The band had a long history to pull from for this effort. Most of them have known each other for more than 20 years, having grown up together in Mississippi and officially forming in 1995. Their debut album, 2000’s “The Better Life”, featured the song “Kryptonite” and sold six million copies.

In many ways the group (comprised of Arnold, lead guitarist Matt Roberts, bassist Todd Harrell, guitarist Chris Henderson and drummer Greg Upchurch) wanted to get back to that initial feeling from their early years.

“This being our fifth record, it is really similar to our first record in a lot of ways in that we really approached it with kind of new eyes. ... with a good heart and hungry hearts and ready to do something new,” Arnold said of the al-

bum, released last month.

“We did things that we normally wouldn’t do in the past, and it shows,” said Harrell. “You know how every band in their career has that one record, like Rush has ‘Moving Pictures,’ and Def Leppard has ‘Hysteria’? I think this is our record. I think this is it, because it’s by far, to me, the best record we’ve ever done.” The album’s leadoff song, “When You’re Young,” became the band’s 10th top 10 single on the mainstream rock chart.

“I think this song strikes a chord with fans, because everybody can relate to how hard it is to be young, whether you’re presently young or whether you’re just looking back on how hard it really was,” said Arnold.

“This song in a way is a mockery of how easy people think it is some-

times and how easy people talk about how it is to be young.”

At age 32, Arnold said he thinks of his band mates as brothers.

Harrell, 39, agreed and said he feels that 3 Doors Down is finally coming into its own. “I think the band right now as a whole is probably

better than it’s been ever. I think we’re all a lot tighter,” Harrell said.

“If you do something as long as we’ve done it, you can’t help but get better at it, you know?”

“As far as where we’re at in our lives, I think the band’s all great.

Everybody’s in a good spot right

now, and we’re just having fun. We’re ready to go out and have a lot of fun with the fans,” he added. 3 Doors Down are currently on a U.S. tour through October. They just released a new single, “Every Time You Go,” and the music video features footage from their European tour earlier this summer.

‘Lone Ranger’ filming shut down over budget issues Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Cobus Bodenstein, File

FILE - In this June 16, 2001, file photo actor Shammi Kapoor acknowledges receiving the invaluable contribution to Indian cinema award at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, at the Superbowl in Sun City, South Africa.

Popular Indian actor Shammi Kapoor dies at 79 Associated Press Writer

MUMBAI, India — Versatile Indian actor Shammi Kapoor has died after a long career in Bollywood. He was 79. His doctor Bhupendra Gandhi says Kapoor was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital two days ago in critical condition. He was on dialysis and died Sunday of kidney failure.

Kapoor was hailed for his lighthearted roles in movies. He

belonged to Bollywood’s wellknown Kapoor family.

His brothers Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor also were successful actors, and his father, Prithviraj Kapoor, was a well-known theater personality of 1950s.

Shammi Kapoor made his debut in Bollywood in 1953 and acted in successful movies including “Junglee” and “Professor.” He also appeared in “Brahmchari” and “Janwar.” He is survived by his wife, one son and a daughter.

LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney Studios’ much-anticipated big-screen adaptation of “The Lone Ranger” starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer has been shut down, according to a source close to the production.

Those involved in the project are figuring out their next steps, and it’s possible filming could resume, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions and requested anonymity.

The development was first reported in Deadline Hollywood, an entertainment industry news website. It cited difficulties with reducing the movie’s estimated $250 million cost to $200 million.

Jerry Bruckheimer was set to produce the film with a script by Justin Haythe. Hammer was expected to play the title character, and Depp was set to be the Lone Ranger’s partner, Tonto.

The Lone Ranger show — about a masked Texas Ranger who battles injustice in the Old West — first aired on radio in the 1930s and became a hit TV series during the 1950s. The movie adaptation was scheduled to be released Dec. 21, 2012.

The film would bring together Depp and Bruckheimer, who have collaborated on the wildly successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. That franchise has raked in billions of dollars in worldwide box office sales for Disney.

FILE - Actors Jay Silverheels, left, as Tonto, and Clayton Moore in the title role of “The Lone Ranger” are shown in a scene from the western television series in 1951.

AP Photo, File

Science

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

13

Ancient sea reptile gave birth, didn’t lay eggs Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — The remains of a giant sea creature are providing the first proof that these prehistoric reptiles gave birth to their young rather than laying eggs.

AP Photo/S. Abramowicz, Dinosaur Institute, Science

This undated image provided by the journal Science shows a life reconstruction of the plesiosaur Polycotylus latippinus giving birth to a single, large young, based on fossil evidence from the Upper Cretaceous (80 million years ago) of Kansas.

Plesiosaurs, which lived at the time of dinosaurs, were large carnivorous sea animals with broad bodies and two pairs of flippers.

Researchers have long questioned whether they would have been able to crawl onto land and lay eggs like other reptiles or gave birth in the water like whales.

“This is the first evidence of live birth in plesiosaurs — an exciting find,” said geology professor Judy A. Massare of the State University of New York, Brockport, who was not part of the research team.

The newly unveiled fossil was originally discovered in 1987 in Logan County in Kansas. Encased in rock, it had been stored in the basement of the Natural History

Museum of Los Angeles County until resources were available to separate the bones for display at the museum.

F. Robin O’Keefe of Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va., and the museum’s Luis Chiappe uncovered the bones of an adult plesiosaur (PLEE’-see-uh-sawr) and the remains of a fetus inside her.

The museum dated the fossil, which is more than 15 feet long, to between 72 million and 78 million years ago. The researchers report on their analysis of the pregnant plesiosaur in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

O’Keefe said he had seen photos of the fossil, but was still surprised when he first saw it. “I wasn’t pre-

pared for the emotional response I had,” he said in a telephone interview.

“You don’t very often walk up to one and say: ‘That is a really cool fossil.’” “I walked around it for about a half hour, it excited me the way I used to get excited as a kid,” he said.

There had been evidence of live births in an ancestor of plesiosaurs.

But the lack of proof for plesiosaur birth has been puzzling, said R. Ewan Fordyce, head of the geology department at the University of Otago, New Zealand, who was not involved in the research.

Fordyce said the researchers do a good job showing “that this is a fetus and not a young animal that has been eaten.” He said it was the right size for a fetus and in the right place, and there’s no sign that it had been eaten and digested. Anthony Russell of the biological science department at the University of Calgary, Canada, called the find “significant.”

Strange planet is blacker than coal Agence France Presse

A planet orbiting a distant star is darker than coal, reflecting less than one percent of the sunlight falling on it, according to a paper published on Thursday. The strange world, TrES2b, is a gas giant the size of Jupiter, rather than a solid, rocky body like Earth or Mars, astronomers said.

It closely orbits the star GSC 03549-02811, located about 750 light years away in the direction of the constellation of Draco the Dragon. “TrES-2b is considerably less reflective than black acrylic paint, so it’s truly an alien world,” David Kipping of the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics said in a

press release issued by Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

First spotted five years ago, TrES-2b races around its star at a distance of just five million kilometres (three million miles).

This is scorchingly close when compared to Earth’s 150-million-km (93-million-mile) distance from the Sun and Jupiter’s 778 million kms (483 million miles). So fierce is the heat that the exoplanet’s atmosphere is cooked to more than 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).

Signatures from its atmosphere point to the presence of light-absorbing chemicals like vaporised sodium and potassium or titanium oxide.

But none of these substances can explain the planet’s darkness, which is more extreme than any planet or moon in our own Solar System. “It’s not clear what is responsible for making this planet so extraordinarily dark,” said David Spiegel of Princeton University.

“However, it’s not completely pitch black. It’s so hot that it emits a faint red glow, much like a burning ember or the coils on an electric stove.”

More than 500 extrasolar planets have been identified since 1995.

Stick-on patch proposed for patient monitoring Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — One day monitoring a patient’s vital signs like temperature and heart rate could be a simple as sticking on a tiny, wireless patch, sort of like a temporary tattoo. Eliminating the bulky wiring and electrodes used in current monitors would make the devices more comfortable for patients, says an international team of researchers who report their findings in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

“What we are trying to do here is to really reshape and redefine electronics ... to look a lot more like the human body, in this case the surface layers of the skin,” said John A. Rogers of the University of Illinois. “The goal is really to blur the distinction between electronics and biological tissue.”

The researchers embedded electronic

sensors in a film thinner than the diameter of a human hair, which was placed on a polyester backing like those used for the temporary tattoos popular with kids. The result was a sensor that was flexible enough to move with the skin and would adhere without adhesives.

The researchers said the devices had remained in place for up to 24 hours. Rogers said in an briefing that, while normal shedding of skin cells would eventually cause the monitors to come off, he thought they could remain in place as long as two weeks.

In addition to monitoring patients in hospitals, other uses for the devices could include monitoring brain waves, muscle movement, sensing the larynx for speech, emitting heat to help heal wounds and perhaps even being made touch sensitive and placed on artificial limbs, Rogers said.

14

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sport

International

Bayern snatch stoppage time win, Dortmund lose Reuters

AP Photo/Scott Heppell

Newcastle United’s Joey Barton, second left, is pulled away from Arsenal’s Gervinho, right, during their English Premier League soccer match at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.

Arsenal see red, Liverpool held at Anfield Reuters

MANCHESTER, England - Arsenal made a controversial start to their Premier League campaign on Saturday as striker Gervinho was sent off on his debut in a scrappy 0-0 draw at Newcastle United while wasteful Liverpool were held at home by Sunderland.

Ivory Coast striker Gervinho appeared to go down easily in the area near the end of the game, prompting Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton to grab his shirt and pull him up. Gervinho then slapped Barton, who fell over theatrically and was lucky his involvement in the scuffle did not earn him more than a yellow card at St James’ Park.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger questioned whether the referee had even seen the incident and said both players should have received the same punishment.

“Gervinho didn’t deserve a red card. He (referee Peter Walton) gives a red to the two or a yellow to the two,” he told ESPN television.

“The referee has not seen it and the linesman has not seen it properly. I’m 100 percent sure the referee didn’t see the incident. I would like to see who made this decision.” Arsenal’s fellow title hopefuls Liverpool also dropped points in a 1-1 draw with a plucky Sunderland side at Anfield.

Liverpool took the lead with Luis Suarez’s 12th-minute header but the Uruguayan’s earlier penalty miss and a disallowed Andy

Carroll effort left Sunderland in the game.

A great volley by winger Sebastian Larsson in the 57th minute gave the Swede a goal on his debut and the visitors a share of the points. “We might have had a few more chances and were a wee bit unlucky in getting Andy Carroll’s goal knocked off, which would have put us 2-0 up,” Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish told reporters. “But Sunderland made it difficult for us, they worked really hard and I think they deserved a point.”

QPR got a sharp lesson in topflight soccer with a 4-0 thrashing by visitors Bolton Wanderers while fellow promoted side Norwich City snatched a 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic. Wolverhampton Wanderers won 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers and Fulham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in the day’s other games.

TITLE DEFENCE

Champions Manchester United start the defence of their title on Sunday with a trip to West Bromwich Albion, while last year’s runners-up Chelsea travel to Stoke City. Manchester City host

promoted Swansea City on Monday. Before their match turned ugly, Arsenal dominated possession with their attractive passing game although without midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, poised to join Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, they lacked a decent final ball.

But a reasonable performance will be forgotten in the light of the melee that erupted some 15 minutes from time. At the centre of the skirmish was the often controversial Barton, who had been a surprise inclusion in the Newcastle team after being transfer-listed earlier this week. His fiery temper had already been tested earlier in the game when his leg was stamped on

by Arsenal’s Alex Song, in an incident the referee appeared not to see, and he had remonstrated with the fourth official.

After dragging Gervinho to his feet, Barton received a slap from the striker but was seen telling the referee he had been “punched”.

Gervinho was given his marching orders while Barton remained on the pitch. Wenger said he would review the footage adding that he was “tempted to say yes” when asked if he would appeal the red card.

BERLIN - Luiz Gustavo scored in stoppage time to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, their first goal and points of the Bundesliga season, while champions Borussia Dortmund lost 1-0 at Hoffenheim. Dutchman Klaas Jan Huntelaar hit a hat-trick as Schalke 04 came from behind to demolish hapless Cologne 5-1.

Mainz 05, who beat Freiburg 2-1 away, and Hanover 96, who won by the same score at Nuremburg, have six points from their opening two games. Hamburg SV and promoted Hertha Berlin drew 2-2, allowing both sides to pick up their first point. There were important, controversial refereeing decisions in three games, including Bayern’s where Wolfsburg had a goal harshly disallowed for offside.

Bayern, who suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Borussia Moenchengladbach in last week’s opener, were without Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who suffered a minor back problem in training on Friday.

Bayern striker Ivica Olic came on as a second-half substitute to make his first appearance for nine months following a knee operation and 19-year-old Japanese Takashi Usami made his Bundesliga debut, also after halftime. Wolfsburg should have gone ahead when Patrick Helmes headed in from close range just after the half hour. His effort was disallowed although replays showed he was clearly onside when a cross was played in.

STILL RANTING

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath, whose side won 3-0 at Cologne last week, was livid at the decision and was still ranting when Bayern midfielder Toni Kroos was booked for diving in the penalty area shortly afterwards. The game was heading for a draw until Croatian striker Olic escaped his marker on the left, found an unmarked Franck Ribery in the penalty area and the Frenchman laid the ball off for Luiz Gustavo to nonchalantly sidefoot home.

Dortmund, who began with an impressive 3-1 win over Hamburg a week ago, were beaten by an early Sejad Salihovic free kick at Hoffenheim. The visitors had a penalty turned down when Shinji Kagawa appeared to be tripped just before the interval.

Schalke’s goal spree began with what looked to be an extremely harsh penalty awarded for handball. It was converted by Huntelaar three minutes before halftime to wipe out Lukas Podolski’s early strike for Cologne.

Huntelaar and Lewis Holtby scored twice in as many minutes shortly after the restart, both goals set up by Marco Hoeger, and former Real Madrid and Spain forward Raul fired the fourth just before the hour.

Huntelaar completed his hat-trick six minutes from time as Schalke bounced back from last week’s 3-0 defeat at VfB Stuttgart.

Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, top right, saves the ball aginst Wolfsburg’s Mario Mandzukic of Croatia, left, during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.

AP Photo/Michael Sohn

Sport

International

Monday, August 15, 2011

15

Serena Williams advances to Rogers Cup final Associated Press Writer

TORONTO — Serena Williams advanced to the final in the Rogers Cup, beating fourthseeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday night. The 29-year-old Williams, playing just her fourth tournament since being sidelined for a year by injuries and illness, will face 10th-seeded Samantha Stosur in the final.

“My goals have been just to give it my all at every match and every tournament,” Williams said. “Not that it wasn’t like that before, but I had a tremendous amount of focus in the Grand Slams, and I think I still will. But every now and then. ... you never know, tomorrow is not promised and I want to give it my all at every opportunity I have.” Stosur beat Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Williams, the 13-time Grand Slam champion who isn’t seeded as she continues her comeback, put in her most dominant performance this week, winning in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

Dressed in an emerald green longsleeved shirt and black skirt, her hair pulled back in a black headband, Williams was the clear crowd favorite at Rexall Centre stadium.

The match was her’s for the taking when she broke Azarenka’s serve

on a double-fault to go up 4-3 in the second set. Williams carried all the momentum from that point on, eventually winning on a blistering shot to the back corner that Azarenka had little hope of getting to.

“I feel it’s better today than it has been the past couple of rounds, but I feel it’s coming along, I feel I can still do a little better but overall I’m almost where I was. Almost,” Williams said. “But I want to exceed that level.” Williams was injured shortly after claiming her fourth Wimbledon title. A few days after that victory, she cut her foot on glass at a restaurant in Germany, and underwent two operations. She spent 10 weeks in a cast and 10 weeks in a walking boot.

Then she was diagnosed in February with blood clots in her lung, and didn’t return to practice court in April.

While her philosophical approach

to the game might have changed, her biting sarcasm hasn’t. The former world No. 1-ranked player is well down in 80th as she continues her comeback, and was asked if she feels like a top-10 player simply disguised in a No. 80 label.

“You think?” Williams fired back, prompting chuckles from reporters.

“Maybe I’m like a changeling and maybe I am really top-10 and I am disguised. That’s a good theory. I’m going to look into that.” The 11thranked Stosur, from Australia, will return to the top 10 in the WTA rankings next week.

“I think it’s always for any person playing a professional sport like tennis, that benchmark is the top 10, and then you make your top five, and from there, you never know what’s possible,” Stosur said. “But I was definitely very excited when I broke the top 10 the first time.”

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese

Serena Williams reacts after winning a point during a match against Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, at the Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in Toronto.

Williams defeated Azarenka 6-3, 6-3.

U.S. sprinter Rodgers fails drug test Reuters

RALEIGH, North Carolina Former U.S. 100 meters champion Mike Rodgers has tested positive for a banned stimulant,

putting his world championship hopes in jeopardy, his agent said on Saturday.

“Mike made a mistake,” Tony Campbell told Reuters by telephone. “He went to a club with

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Mike Rodgers of the U.S. looks up after winning the men’s 100m run event at the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meet in New York May 30, 2009.

some friends in Italy and he thought he was drinking a Red Bull (energy drink) but he got one of those energy drinks that had a stimulant in it.” Rodgers, the year’s fourth fastest 100 meters runner, said on his Twitter account he had failed a test. “Tested positive for stimulant in an energy drink,” he tweeted.

“I’m just trying to get a hearing before worlds so I can know my fate,” said Rodgers, who was named in the U.S. team in the 100 meters and 4x100 relay.

He finished third in the 100m at the U.S. world championship trials in June. Penalties for a positive test for stimulants can range from a warning to a suspension of several months. Campbell said Rodgers, 26, had not been suspended by USA Track and Field (USATF) as of Saturday.

USATF officials could not be reached for immediate comment on Rodgers’s status for the world championships which begin on August 27 in Daegu, South Korea.

Rodgers was yet to have his second “B” sample tested, Campbell said, adding that he understood the result would not come until two days after USATF

finalized its world championship team on Monday. “It is a bad situation for us now,” Campbell said, referring to the timing of the failed test.

“I would surmise (USATF) are

going to leave Mike in there (on the team) until the final verdict is in,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to think Mike is a druggie. It was a stimulant. It was not steroids or anything of that nature.”

World champion Chen Jin swept aside Reuters

LONDON - Top seed and world number one Lee Chong Wei swept aside holder Chen Jin of China 21-13 21-9 in the semi-finals of the world badminton championships at Wembley Arena on Saturday.

It was a devastating performance from the Malaysian who has been at the top of his game all week and on this form looks set to land the first world title of his career in Sunday’s final.

“I’ve prepared well for the tournament and I had to be at my best today,” Chong Wei told reporters. Smashing and recovering well, he had too much firepower for sixth-seeded

Chen in the first game and then trailed 4-0 in the second.

However, Chen could not cash in. Chong Wei levelled at 7-7 and then sped away to book his place in a world championship final for the first time.

“I thought I was average today and he was very good,” said Chen. “He was covering the court well.” Chong Wei next plays three-times former champion Lin Dan of China or Europe’s top player, Peter Gade of Denmark.

In the first women’s semi-final, second seed Wang Yihan beat Chinese compatriot Wang Xin, last year’s runner-up, 21-14 2115. She next meets Germany’s Juliane Schenk or Cheng Shao Chieh of Taiwan.