Edisi 16 Maret 2015 | International Bali Post

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Monday, March 16, 2015

AP Photo/Disney

This image released by Disney shows Elsa the Snow Queen, voiced by Idina Menzel, in a scene from the animated feature “Frozen.” The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to make a sequel to the animated mega-hit “Frozen.” In the company’s annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco on Thursday, March 12, 2015, Disney executives officially announced plans for “Frozen 2.”

Elsa, Anna back as Disney’s ‘Frozen Fever’ short released

LOS ANGELES - Fans of hit movie “Frozen” who can’t let it go can reunite with Elsa, Anna and Olaf this weekend in a short film being released around the world.

The most successful animated film in history, “Frozen” has already raked in a cool $1.3 billion in earnings since its release in 2013, picking up two Oscars and a clutch of other awards along the way.

Disney this week confirmed that a sequel was in the works, delighting fans who flocked to the first film in droves and sending shares in the studio soaring.

Before then however comes the featurette “Frozen Fever,” offering fans the chance to reacquaint themselves with the film’s characters -- albeit for only seven, brief minutes.

The film is being released alongside Disney’s live action feature film “Cinderella,” which opens in North American theaters on Friday.

The short revolves around the problems that ensue when Elsa comes down with a heavy cold while a birthday party for her sister Anna is being prepared.

“It’s a fun way to relive the characters because we love these characters as much as the fans do, it’s a way to almost say thank you,” producer Peter del Vecho told AFP. “The whole idea of the short was we want to have fun with these characters, we want to have humor

for Elsa, something she didn’t get to have in the movie.

“In seven minutes you can bring a lot of joy. It’s sort of a celebration.”

The “Frozen” creative team began work on the featurette a year ago following the runaway success of the film, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.”

The short feature also sees the voices of Elsa and Anna -- Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell -- reunite on a new song “Making Today a Perfect Day,” with the daunting task of trying to match global hit “Let It Go.” (afp)

LOS ANGELES — Just like Tony “Iron Man” Stark, Robert Downey Jr. is a part-time superhero — at least in the eyes of one sevenyear-old boy.

In a video posted online Thursday, the actor, dressed as Stark, who becomes Iron Man in the movies, presents a working bionic prosthesis

to seven-year-old Alex, who was born with a partially developed right arm.

Downey opens a pair of metal cases marked Stark Industries, revealing an Iron Man arm and a smaller, redand-gold prosthetic arm for Alex.

The little boy, wearing a black shirt and red bow tie, sheepishly acknowl-

edges in the video that he’s having an exchange with Iron Man, whom he also identifies as “Robert.”

The bionic arm Alex received was created by engineering student Albert Manero, who builds and donates 3-Dprinted bionic limbs to kids around the world.

Manero has been working with

Kathy Griffin turns in her ‘Fashion Police’ badge LOS ANGELES — The “Fashion Police” force is dwindling, with Kathy Griffin following Kelly Osbourne out the door. Griffin announced her departure Thursday, after just seven episodes, in a posting on her Twitter account. The tweet was verified by her office.

Although she offered a politic comment about her style not meshing with the E! channel show’s “creative direction,” her lengthy tweet veered off into apparent criticism of how “Fashion Police” critiques celebrity looks.

“There is plenty to make fun of in pop culture without bringing people’s bodies into it. ... I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference,” she posted.

Griffin tweeted that her goal is to help “women, gay kids, people of color” and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a laugh.

Osbourne exited “Fashion Police” two weeks ago after complaining about co-host Giuliana Rancic’s red-carpet criticism of AfricanAmerican singer-actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks. Rancic said they suggested the smell of marijuana.

Zendaya went online to slam the remarks as “outrageously offensive.”

Rancic later apologized, saying the experience taught her not to perpetuate cliches and stereotypes.

Griffin came to “Fashion Police” as a replacement for her friend and mentor, the late Joan Rivers. In a statement, the channel said series executive producer and Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, will step in for the next episode.

That will air as scheduled March 30, the channel said, with Rivers joining remaining co-hosts Rancic and Brad Goreski.

There was no word on who will permanently replace Griffin, whom the channel thanked for her work, or Osbourne. (ap)

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Monday, March 16, 2015

Vanuatu struggles to account for cyclone damage, deaths Page 6

Messi-inspired Barca riding high before City, ‘Clasico’ Page 8

Netanyahu legacy on the line in Israeli vote

Page 13

Indonesia aerobatic planes crash in Malaysia, pilots safe

KUALA LUMPUR - Two planes from an Indonesian aerobatics team collided and crashed on Sunday during a practice session before an air show on Malaysia’s Langkawi island but all four pilots are safe.

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

‘Iron Man’ star Downey presents boy with bionic arm Alex’s family to perfect the digital arm, which Alex moves by flexing his biceps.

Each bionic limb Manero builds takes 50 to 70 hours of printing time and about 12 hours of assembly, he said.

His company, Limbitless Solutions, aims to eventually put 3-D

printers in embassies around the world so children who live in countries without advanced medicine can benefit from Manero’s designs.

The video was produced by the Collective Project, a social-media outreach program that gives students like Manero a greater presence online in hopes of inspiring others. (ap)

Pilots from Indonesia’s Jupiter aerobatics team are ejected after a mid-air collision during a practice session at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition in Langkawi, Malaysia, on Sunday, March 15, 2015.

The Korean-made KAI KT-1 Woongbi planes were part of a team from the Indonesian Air Force which will be taking part in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition this week.

“At around 2pm, two aircraft from our Jupiter aerobatics team were conducting a practice for the air show in Langkawi, Malaysia, when they collided and then crashed,” Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya told AFP in Jakarta.

“All four pilots on both planes were safe. They ejected when the aircraft started getting out of control.”

Malaysia’s Star newspaper said the pilots were rushed to a local hospital, and a fire services photo showed one on a stretcher.

A spokesman for the Langkawi Fire and Rescue Department, quoted

by Bernama news agency, said the two planes crashed while flying in a formation of six.

The crash also set a house on fire,

Bernama said, adding that firemen managed to douse the flames.

The single-engined turboprop Woongbi is a basic training aircraft.

One of the Indonesian Air Force’s planes crashed on a residential house in Gelam village, Kedawang, slightly injuring two residents.

The two victims were later rushed to the Langkawi hospital, Berita Harian online media reported.

The wreckage of the planes were found scattered over a wide forested area at the edge of the airport. One of the planes’ seat was found near a house and at least two houses caught fire due to the crash.

Eyewitness Markus Chong, said he saw two pilots ejecting before the planes crashed.

“Two in mid-air collision from Jupiter Aerobatic Team. Both pilots ejected. Hopefully no injuries on ground,” he posted on Facebook.

It is learnt that all practices and aerial displays were halted immediately as search and rescue helicopters were deployed to find the missing pilots.

A search and rescue mission headed by he Royal Malaysian Air Force responded within minutes and successfully rescued the pilots in Kedawang, about 11.3km away from the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre.

The Indonesian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force have formed a joint team to investigate the incident. (ant/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.

AP Photo/Ow Eng Tiong

2

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

Bali News

Perforated coin industry, mainstay of Kamasan

The confiscated liquors are displayed by the police

IBP/File

Leading up to Nyepi, police hold liquor raids

DENPASAR - In some regions the Nyepi celebrations are characterized by clashes and fighting between people, usually triggered by drunkenness. Leading up to the Saka New Year 1937 Nyepi celebrations, the Bali Police will be targeting liquor distributors in anticipation of such disturbances. “Liquor vendors’ throughout Bali will be discouraged from selling booze, so as not to tarnish Nyepi celebrations with undesirable incidents,” said Spokesman of Bali Police, Hery Wiyanto.

The Klungkung Police are the most diligent in taking action against liquor vendors. “Every day Klungkung Police report arrests of liquor vendors” he said.

Wiyanto expects police from other counties to take similar measures to suppress the distribution of liquor - especially arrack, before Nyepi. In addition, each county police station has mapped out areas prone to crime.

Based on the experience of previous

years, Hery ascertained that every county police station is familiar with places within their territory that need special security measures to be taken.

“The police of each county must engage in dynamic security measures in areas that are conducive or prone to criminal activities, giving these areas special attention backed up with Bali Police security forces” he said.

Moreover, there has been a restriction on the sale of liquor issued by the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Indonesia through the issuance of the Regulation of the Ministry of Commerce No. 06/MDAG/PER/1/2015. “Minimarkets and the like are prohibited from selling liquor. If there are stubborn, and continue to sell alcohol, they will be dealt with accordingly,” he said. (ken)

SEMARAPURA - Various kinds of SME enterprises are springing up in Kamasan village, Klungkung. Such developments have catapulted Kamasan into one of the major centers for art and cultural products. Products here range from classical painting in Kamasan style, to bullet casing crafts, to the industry of perforated coin familiarly known as pis bolong in Bali.

The perforated coin industry of Kamasan village has become a mainstay for local residents. Made Sugandi, who has been in the business since 2005, when met at his factory recently, explained that the perforated coin industry continues to grow rapidly. When he started, perforated coins were already in high demand because every ceremony in Bali requires large quantities of these coins.

The raw materials need to make these coins, namely; gold, silver, copper, iron and brass are intensively sought after by scavengers and junk collectors. These materials are then purified before being processed into perforated coins. Back in 2005, Sugandi was producing hundreds of coins per day, however because the demand for pis bolong continued to increase, he eventually hired more workers and is now able to produce thousands of coins a day.

So far, the demand for perforated coins remains high, which has made other Kamasan residents to open similar businesses. Sugandi himself admitted that he was overwhelmed with orders, despite having 15 employees working at his “Bali Antik Coin” workshop in Kamasan. His products have various designs such as the pancadatu of padma type and padma aksara, kuci or the so-called female coin, coins with puppet characters and many other types.

Among the different types of perforated coins, the type most sought-after by Balinese people is the pancadatu because it is needed for certain Hindu religious ceremonies. Sugandi confessed that although coin production is a good business opportunity, it was does have a negative impact.

He explained that the high demand for perforated coins has led to unfair competition with entrepreneurs trying to run each other out of business. Customers however are just looking for the best quality perforated coins in Kamasan. Competition amongst coin makers in Kamasan is nothing compared to the competition they face with the production of such coins in Java.

Perforated coins produced in Java sell for about IDR 300,000 per thousand pieces while those produced in Kamasan sell for IDR 450,000 per thousand pieces. “The price in Kamasan is already very low in terms of the cost of materials. The industry of perforated coin is not just a business, but also deals with holy sacrifice,” said Sugandi.

Komang Sugendra, another Kamasan coin craftsman, expressed a similar opinion about competition. This craftsman from “Taksu Agung Kamasan” said that market conditions were aggravated by the increase in the price of brass, due to its increasing scarcity.

Craftsmen are forced to cooperate with junk dealers. Brass is extracted from former water faucets, lights and pots which are melted down to get the brass used to make the coins. “Raw materials in Bali are of better quality than those from Java, so Javanese craftsmen can sell their products for cheaper and besiege the market in Bali,” he said.

The increased cost of brass has made craftsmen like him forced to increase the cost of their perforated coins. He worries that if prices continue to rise, no one will buy his product.

The price of perforated cons at Taksu Agung Kamasan is relatively cheap; one coin sells for IDR 70 despite using the same amount of raw materials. The five elements or metals: gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminum continue to be used so as not to reduce the taksu or divine vibration of the perforated coins. With ten workers, is able to produce 70 pancadatu coins per day. Of the five raw materials used, it is the price of brass that continues to soar, now costing as much as IDR 45,000 per kilogram, up from last year’s IDR 25,000 per kilogram. (gik)

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International

Activities

Monday, March 16, 2015

15

Nyepi at Aston Denpasar

DENPASAR - Nyepi is a Balinese “Day of Silence” that is commemorated every Icaka Warsa (Saka New Year) according to the Balinese calendar (in 2015, it falls on March 21). It is a Hindu celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia.

Balinese stay at their houses for fasting and meditation for 24 hours. The day following Nyepi is also celebrated as New Year’s Day.

Aston Denpasar Hotel & Convention Center offers a Nyepi Package from March 20 – 22, 2015 with the special price for 3 days and 2 nights in a studio room. This package includes taxes and service, daily buffet breakfast and 1x buffet lunch and dinner for 2 persons on Nyepi day. To complete your peaceful day with your family, Aston provide a wide variety of Box Office Movie available in their Television Channel for 24 hours. Also prepared 2 such as cooking class, making cupcake Movie Cinema for the family and sandwich as well as drawing and and others interesting activities coloring. Aston provide such diverse

IBP/Courtesy of Aston Denpasar

activities as a form of our loyalty to the guest who‘s not celebrating Nyepi, but still respect the culture itself.

Profile

Ida Bagus Putra

Evolving toward the success

The Bale Udang Restaurant Ubud managed by Avilla Hospitality celebrated its first anniversary vibrantly, Monday (Mar. 2). Taking the theme Grow Up to Glory the Bale UdangUbud continues to progress towards victory. Operations Manager, Ida Bagus Putra, said the Bale Udang Ubud was still quite young and in the process of evolving toward the success in accordance with the vision namely the Years of Glory. ”Coinciding with the age of one year, the Bale Udang Ubud is optimistic to continuously improve and develop toward the glory itself,” he said.

In the future, added Bagus Putra, the Bale Udang Ubud could reach the target and always give the best to all customers, both in terms of service and quality of food of course.Celebration of the anniversary was attended by the entire management, graced with Balinese dance performance, award confernment and peak of the event was marked with the cutting of rice cone. The event was continued with dinner, band performance and a surprising performance by Chef Wijana and staff (F & B Department) and the Kembang Girang Dance.

In addition, it was also filled with the presentation of employee of the year award 2014 for two selected staff. Besides, the event was also attended by the owner, board of directors and Avilla staff and representatives of the property units managed by the Avilla Hospitality. In the series of the anniversary activities, it was also carried out a visit to homes of poor family at Wangayu hamlet, Bedulu village and Samplangan Gianyar, cleanup in the area of Samuan Tiga Temple, fun games and saying prayers together in Padmasana. (kmb)

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.

IBP/kmb

14

Traveling

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

Trekking in Nepal offers adventure

GHOREPANI, Nepal — Dawn’s golden light caught the tops of the snowcapped Himalayas and gradually crept downward as the rising sun lit up a sweeping arc of soaring peaks, at once forbidding and starkly beautiful.

The stunning vista from the top of Poon Hill — at 3,193 meters (10,475 feet), the highest point of our family’s six-day trek in Nepal — was among many highlights of a “Lord of the Rings”-like adventure through lush forests, terraced fields and traditional villages nestled above plunging valleys.

Sometimes the going was tough — like hiking two hours up steep, stone steps. Other times, we walked along gently undulating woodland paths.

Along the way, there were rewards: children who ran to greet us (sometimes asking for money or candy), wildflowers beside the path, breathtaking views and cups of hot masala tea at cute little rest stops.

If you’re looking for a family adventure that immerses you in

nature, beauty and a fascinating culture — and you’re willing to rough it some — consider trekking in Nepal.

Children as young as 8 or 9 could handle the popular 65-kilometer (40-mile) Ghandruk-GhorepaniPoon Hill loop we hiked, located just south of the Annapurna Range.

Small children can be carried on the backs of porters.

We hiked four to six hours daily, depending on the trail’s difficulty, usually reaching our destination by 3 p.m., allowing time to relax before supper.

With good weather, this route will give you stunning views of a string of mountains, including Annapurna I (8,091 meters, 26,545 feet), 10th-tallest in the world; Machapuchre, or “Fishtail,” with

its distinctively shaped peak; and the towering Dhaulagiri (8,172 meters, 26,811 feet), the world’s seventh-tallest. Mount Everest, located 300 kilometers (190 miles) to east, isn’t visible on this loop.

The circuit starts and ends near the lakeside town of Pokhara, central Nepal’s trekking hub. We used 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking, which specializes in training and employing women, to hire our guide, Mana Kunwar, an experienced, flexible and fun Nepali woman who spoke good English.

Her knowledge of the trail, culture and language — and contacts at tea houses where she booked our rooms — enhanced our experience immensely.

Peak trekking season in October and November, when skies are

clearest and temperatures hover between 15-25 degrees Celsius (60s and 70s F). We mostly hiked in Tshirts and shorts (women’s shorts should be knee-length out of respect for the local culture). But early mornings and evenings, when it got as cold as 5 degrees C (40 F), we needed fleeces and long pants. We encountered no snow, but a week before our October visit, a freak blizzard and avalanche hit a pass at a much higher elevation about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the north, killing more than 40 people.

April and May, also a good time to go, can be cloudier, but the rhododendron trees are in bloom.

June, July and August are rainy.

Be prepared to rough it. Some teahouses offer hot showers but water supplies are often limited.

Rooms run $3-$5 a night, Spartan but clean. Blankets are available, but most trekkers bring sleeping bags, which can be rented or

bought in Pokhara or Kathmandu at shops that sell everything you need, including knock-off brand fleeces and backpacks. Trekking poles, about $5 apiece, are recommended, especially when descending. Don’t buy hiking shoes when you arrive; break those in at home.

The food is rather monotonous: Lots of dal bhat, or lentil stew with rice, plus curries, pastas and soups, and not much meat or fruit. Deepfried “gurung bread” is quite good.

You may want to bring canned tuna or meat.

As for that sun rise from Poon Hill: Woke at 5 a.m. and hiked 45 minutes from the village of Ghorepani to see it, and shared the experience with other trekkers. But like the rest of the trip, the effort was well worth it. Got a panoramic view of both the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges in all their majesty. (ap)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

3

Holiday makers continue flock in Bali

DENPASAR - Foreign holiday makers continued to flock to Bali despite boycotts call by Australia over the plan to execute two death row drug convicts from that country.

Significant increase was recorded in the number of arrivals of foreign visitors at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai airport and Bali’s seaports, tourism observer Tjok Gede Agung said.

“Bali remains a favorite destination for foreign tourists despite setback in political relations with Australia,” Tjok said.

Based on officials record of the Bali Tourism Office 637,217 foreign tourists flew directly from their respective countries to Bali in January-February, up 14.8 percent from the same period in 2014.

Relations between Indonesia and Australia suffered a setback over the plan to execute two Australians drug convicts on death row.

There has been threat to boycott visit

by Australians to Bali, but apparently the people of Australia has ignored the boycott call.

“Australians still led in number of foreign visitors to Bali,” Tjok said.

The number of Australians visiting Bali rose 16.76 percent on-year to 156,424 in the first two months of 2015 or 24.55 percent of the total number of foreign visitors to Bali. The second largest number was those from China reaching 145,749 in the January-February period of 2015. (ant)

IBP/Wawan

Foreign holiday makers continued to flock to Bali despite boycotts call by Australia over the plan to execute two death row drug convicts from that country.

Colorful holi spalsh AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, trekkers hike through a densely forested area near Ghorepani, Nepal. The six-day loop takes travelers through widely varied terrain, including terraced fields, lush forests and barren ridges.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, photo, Mt. Machapuchre, or “Fishtail,” pierces the sky at nearly 7,000 meters, or 23,000 feet, as viewed from the Nepali village of Tadapani. The soaring peak is one of many in the Annapurna Range that can be seen from the Ghorepani-Gandruk-Poon Hill trekking loop accessed best from the lakeside town of Pokhara.

DENPASAR - A big colorful Holi splash was held on 8th march 2015 at the Unud Football Lawn in Bali in honor of the Indian festival. In keeping with the tradition and keeping the spirit of Indian culture alive even in a foreign land- BIF I.e.

Balinese Indian Friendship Association sponsored and hosted this event. BIFA and which has been responsible for organizing

many such events in the past too that promote Indian culture and solidifies relations between people belonging to different communities was successful in sending is message across.

Stressing upon the real significance of celebrating Holi which dissolves the walls and barriers of castes, status, religion and communities by treating everyone the same, BIFA managed to

unite more than 200 people from Malaysia, Javanese, Balinese and Indian community under one roof. The event saw a big water pool, water guns, herbal colors everywhere with guests enjoying the food delicacies like dosas, jalebis, thandai, ladoos on offer, while the DJ kept the crowd grooving it on its feet on popular Holi songs. Be it kids, youngsters or elderly, everyone was seen

having a good time.

The main motive behind this free for all festival celebration

by BIFA was to treat everyone the same. Here, people weren’t factioned as per their castes or religion- it was people of the world united as one without any differentiation between them.

The event was preceded by a one day cricket match won by Sunur Cricket Club comprising of

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 photo, the sun rises above the Annapurna Range in central Nepal as viewed from Poon Hill, above the village of Ghorepani.

Poon Hill, the highest point of the six-day, 65-kilometer (40-mile) loop through the villages of Ghandruk and Ghorepan can be crowded with other trekkers at sunrise during peak trekking season

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Monday, Oct. 20, 2014, photo, a family of trekkers with a guide follow a path through terraced fields close to Dhampus, Nepal. Some travelers in the region hire guides to share their knowledge of the trail, language, local culture and wildlife.

IBP/Courtesy of BIFA

all Indian players which doubled the Holi celebrations.

4

Monday, March 16, 2015

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

ForBALI rallied reject Benoa Bay’s reclamation plan

DENPASAR - Ogoh-ogoh or papier mâché demons and various fish posters were a new force in the cultural parade held by ForBALI on Friday (Mar. 13), in rejection of the reclamation plan that claims to be a revitalization of Benoa Bay. The mass of ForBALI also wore life jackets and diving gear. This demonstration was the umpteenth of its kind, held by ForBALI (Forum of Balinese People Rejecting Reclamation) in Renon, Denpasar.

Coordinator of ForBALI, Wayan ‘Gendo’ Suardana, said that the new symbolic props used in this demonstration have specific meaning. When the Governor, the Central Government, the parliament, and capital investors planned the Benoa Bay reclamation project, they were actually planning ecological disaster including floods that the people of Bali would have to face.

“Our friends are wearing life jackets to indicate that recent flooding is

an indication that there is a problem.

Based on research conducted by the International Conservation, the reclamation project would cause flooding down the line. By wearing diving gear and life jackets, our friends are saying that we are prepared for the disasters that lie ahead if this project goes through” he said.

Gendo added that the current action was also a response to the public consultation regarding the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) held by PT

TWBI, on Wednesday (Mar. 11). The public consultation was considered illegal and it appeared that the investor had already orchestrated the public talks to include people with similar opinions, so he chose to walk out on the talks. ForBALI would therefore continue to express their refusal of the reclamation. Moreover, the Bali House as the people’s representative could no longer be expected to express the voice of the people.

“Actually, “the people” do not have

the House today, people do not have a representative today and people do not have a government today. These bodies are all intertwined with capital investors. People today are like orphans, so I want to reiterate that the people of Bali today are orphans, they do not have a father or mother. They are fighting by themselves. Yes, this is clear” he said.

A similar opinion was also expressed by hamlet chief of Batu Bintang, Dauh Puri Kelod village, Denpasar, Nyoman Mardika, during his speech given in front of the Office of the Parliamente of Bali. According to Mardika, Balinese people could no longer expect their representatives in the Bali House to speak because

IBP/ Eka Adyaksa

The ForBALI rallied to reject the reclamation plan

investors are art of the house. “We must frisk anything to fight against this group” he exclaimed.

Chairman of the People’s Empowerment Agency (LPM) of Tanjung Benoa, Kadek Duarsa, said that the people’s representatives in parliament should take a clear stance. So far, their silence or hazy standpoint could be used as justification by investors to go ahead unchecked. Currently, it would seem that only the President of Indonesia can be relied on to revoke the Presidential Regulation (No. 51/2014), that paves the way for reclamation.

“We have a lot of hope, but the president still has many other issues to deal with before he can make a decision on this matter. Investors are taking advantage of this opportunity.

Obviously we still expect the President to hear the aspirations of the coastal communities and the people of Bali in general who reject the reclamation project, and hope he will revoke Presidential Regulation No.51/2014” he explained.

A youth from Batubulan, Wayan Wiliana, said that the reclamation project would not only have an ecological impact but an economic one as well.

According to Wiliana, Bali is currently controlled by certain investors whereas the potential of Bali should be managed by the people of Bali themselves. What happens today is that Balinese people are forced to work for someone else in their own region.

Meanwhile, customary organizations such as sekaa, banjar or customary villages no longer manage the potential of the land and its people.

“I think that Bali should have the rights to managed itself, with public interest in mind. Let this land be vacant, with a small capital -we can utilize and control the economy of Bali ourselves. Do not cover this island with magnificent buildings that we cannot participate in. We must work to achieve this.” said Wiliana who works as a tour guide. (kmb32)

Dealer of fake banknotes arrested near Ubung

DENPASAR - Armed with information about a dealer of fake banknote said to be roaming in the area of Ubung, Directorate of Crime and Violence team of the Bali Police General Crime Investigation Unit, immediately conducted an investigation. On Wednesday (Mar. 11), police officers managed to arrest the trafficker of fake banknotes, Hari Purwanto, in front of a stall on Jalan Bung Tomo VI, Ubung, Denpasar.

According to a source at Bali Police Headquarters, Friday (Mar.13), the police initially received in-

formation from a member of the public, stating that an unidentified man often carried fake banknotes in denominations of IDR 100,000.

“We immediately investigated he matter, conducting reconnaissance in the field, over the course of a few days,” he said.

However, the trafficker of fake banknote never emerged. Police were suspicious that the surveillance mission had been leaked, but they persisted nonetheless. Finally on Wednesday, at approximately six ‘clock p.m., the suspect emerged

and approached a food stall. The suspect who was working as a driver sat down to allegedly meet with someone had made a meeting with. Worried that the suspect would flee, the police team, led by Pande Sugiarta immediately arrested the suspect.

After searching the suspects’ wallet and bag, the man from Lumajang, East Java was found to be carrying IDR 3,050,000 in cash. “After further examination, IDR 2 million worth of banknotes were proven to be counterfeit IDR 100,000 bills.

The remaining amount, in IDR 50,000 bills was revealed to be legitimate cash,” he said.

In his confession to the police officers, suspect Hari claimed that he got the counterfeit cash from a colleague named Aziz from Jati Roto, Lumajang, East Java and had come to Bali to deliberately distribute the fake cash. Apart from the fake banknotes, the officers also secured a Honda Vario motorcycle with license plate DK 7326 FA from the suspect. The suspect also claimed that he had been staying at a hotel

on Jalan Pidada, in Denpasar.

Spokesman for the Bali Police, Hery Wiyanto, confirmed these facts adding that after members of the Directorate of General Crime had caught the suspect, the case was transferred to the Directorate of the Special Crime Investigation Unit. “Because special crimes like distributing fake banknote, must be handled by Directorate of Special Crime Investigation Unit. The case is still being developed, including trying to track where the money was printed,” he said. (kmb36)

AP Photo/ Michael Duff

In this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, a boy listens to school classes broadcast over the radio, due to the Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone school’s across the country have been closed in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

10 US charity staff to leave Sierra Leone amid Ebola scare FREETOWN — Ten clinicians with a Boston-based nonprofit organization responding to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone are to be transported to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with the deadly disease.

Partners in Health said in a statement Saturday that the medical workers would be evacuated on non-commercial aircraft and isolated in Ebola treatment facilities.

On March 11, a Partners in Health clinician in Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola, and the 10 fellow workers “came to the aid of their ailing colleague,” the group’s statement said. They have not shown signs of Ebola, and Partners in Health said the evacuations were ordered “out of an abundance of caution.”

“They will remain in isolation near designated U.S. Ebola treatment facilities to ensure access to rapid testing and treatment in the unlikely instance that any become symptomatic,” the group’s statement said.

The clinician who became infected has already been evacuated

and is receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Partners in Health did not specify a timeline for the new evacuations, and a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was not authorized to comment Sunday morning.

Earlier on Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said several Americans who may have been exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone would be monitored.

The CDC did not state how many Americans are coming back, but University of Nebraska Medical Center officials said they will be monitoring four Americans.

The World Health Organization estimated last week that the ongoing Ebola outbreak has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The outbreak is the largest ever for the disease.

Deaths have slowed dramatically in recent months but the virus appears stubbornly entrenched in parts of Guinea and Sierra Leone. (ap)

13

Netanyahu legacy on the line in Israeli vote

JERUSALEM — As Israelis prepare to vote in parliament elections on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself at a fateful crossroads: Make history or become history. If Netanyahu can lead his Likud Party to victory and secure a fourth term in office, he will move closer to overtaking the nation’s iconic founding father, David Ben-Gurion, as the longest-ever serving premier — and cementing a status as the dominant Israeli politician of the past two decades.

But if Likud stumbles and finds itself in the opposition — a real possibility, according to recent polls — the Netanyahu era could end with a resounding thud, concluding a career that many would say brought few major accomplishments beyond longevity. Iran and the international community seem headed toward a nuclear deal that Netanyahu abhors, and a resolution to the Palestinian issue seems as distant as ever.

“If he leaves office, he won’t leave any dramatic changes,” said Yoaz Hendel, a former aide to Netanyahu. In a turbulent region, one could say “this is the best thing to do,” Hendel said.

The Israeli campaign is widely seen as a choice between two world views: Netanyahu’s focus on Israel’s many security challenges — he has long been a voice calling for zero tolerance of terrorism — or his opponents’ focus on Israel’s social problems and high cost of living.

It also touches on his support for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the opposition and the outside world detest.

But on a basic level, the campaign is simply a referendum on

Netanyahu, a polarizing character who is adored as “King Bibi” by his supporters and reviled by his detractors.

The son of a Jewish historian, and scarred by the loss of his brother in a 1976 Israeli commando raid on a hijacked airline in Uganda, Netanyahu often portrays himself — and his country — in historical terms. He laces his speeches with references to Jewish history, tales of Jewish heroism and warnings that Israel’s most sinister enemies lurk around every corner. The main target of his diatribes, Iran, is often compared to biblical enemies and even the Nazis.

“The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over,” Netanyahu said in a controversial speech to the U.S. Congress earlier this month. “We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves.” It was vintage Netanyahu, delivered in flawless, American-accented English — developed during a childhood in Philadelphia and later as a university student at MIT — and with the gifted oratorical flourish that has made him prominent on

the international stage.

His stern rhetorical style, often drawing comparisons to Churchill, has served him well during a threedecade career that has included time at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, as ambassador to the United Nations, a series of senior Cabinet posts and a stint as opposition leader. He has spent a total of nine years as prime minister since 1996, and if he can keep the post through mid2019, he will become the country’s longest serving premier. But after enjoying a surge of popularity following last summer’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu is struggling.

Despite the speech to Congress, his efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear program — which he describes as the mission of his lifetime — appear to be stumbling as the U.S. seems to move toward a deal with the Islamic Republic.

The speech, delivered over White House objections, has worsened an already troubled relationship with President Barack Obama, boding poorly for the final two years of Obama’s term if Netanyahu is reelected. (ap)

2,000 attend burial of German woman killed fighting in Syria

BERLIN — Some 2,000 people have attended a funeral march in western Germany for a woman who was killed while fighting with the Kurds against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Police said friends and Communist activists escorted the body of Ivana Hoffmann, 19, through the city Duisburg to a cemetery where she was buried. Hoffmann died a week ago while fighting with the

Peoples Protection Units, known as the YPG, near the Syrian village of Tel Tamr in Hassakeh province.

Hoffman was born in Germany to a German mother and a father from Togo. She was a member of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) in Turkey and joined YPG fighters about six months ago, the party said in a statement. The party said she died in clashes with IS militants. (ap)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.

12

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

BUSINESS China has ‘ample’ room for stimulus

BEIJING - The Chinese government has more weapons in its arsenal to boost the world’s second-largest economy, Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday as he sought to ease concerns about flagging growth.

Li earlier this month reduced China’s annual growth target to “approximately seven percent”, the lowest since a similar goal in 2004.

The economy expanded 7.4 percent last year, the slowest pace in nearly a quarter of a century.

Fears are growing that Chinese expansion, a key driver of the global economy, may slow further after official data released last week showed production, consumption and investment growth all fell to multi-year lows.

Authorities have so far avoided big-ticket incentives to bolster growth like the unprecedented fourtrillion-yuan (now $640 billion) stimulus package Beijing deployed at the height of the global financial crisis.

But Li signalled that more measures could be taken, telling reporters at his annual press conference: “We still have a host of policy instruments at our disposal.”

Beijing was prepared to “step up our targeted macro-economic regulation” to boost market confidence if growth slowed to approach the “lower limit of our proper range”

and threatened employment and incomes.

“The good news is that in the past couple of years we did not resort to massive stimulus measures for economic growth,” he said after the close of the country’s Communist-controlled National People’s Congress legislature.

That gave authorities “fairly ample room” to act, he said.

Top Chinese leaders have said the economy is in a delicate transition away from decades of doubledigit annual growth to a new, slower model that authorities say is more sustainable, a stage that they have branded as “new normal”.

Li dismissed theories that China’s boom has seen it overtake the US to become the world’s number one economy, describing such purchasing power parity calculations as a “misleading exaggeration”.

“According to authoritative standards, China is still the second-largest economy in the world,” he said, stressing that it remained “behind about 80 countries in the world” in terms of per capita GDP. He recalled a recent visit he

paid to two rural families in the nation’s remote and backward west, where he met a man in his 40s who could not afford to marry and a college student who depended on his younger sister’s income as a migrant worker in the cities to pay his tuition fees.

“It truly pains me to see our people living in such distress and I’m sure that there are many more such families in the vast land of China,” he said, adding nearly 200 million Chinese remained in poverty by World Bank standards.

“China is still a developing country in every sense of this term.”

Underlining official concerns over the economy, the central People’s Bank of China cut benchmark deposit and lending interest rates in late February for the second time in three months, citing “historically low inflation”.

Consumer inflation fell in January to a more-than-five-year low of 0.8 percent. It rebounded to 1.4 percent last month during the Chinese New Year holiday but remained far below this year’s government target of “around three percent”. (afp)

Oil is on its way down again

AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File

In this Jan. 23, 2015, file photo, vehicles form a line behind a motorist re-fueling at a gas station, in Newark, N.J. Oil has fallen close to its lowest level in 6 years, and many expect it to fall much further in the coming weeks because supplies are still heading up and the summer driving season is still months away.

NEW YORK — The price of oil is tumbling again, rattling an already-shaken oil industry and heralding lower prices for consumers.

The price of oil fell 10 percent this week, approaching its lowest price in six years. Many expect it to fall further in the coming weeks because supplies are rising and the summer driving season is still months away.

The lower crude prices will mean gasoline prices will slide lower in the coming weeks, and many drivers will likely pay under $2 a gallon in the summertime for the first time since 2004.

Oil prices had appeared to stabilize in a range nearly 15 percent higher than the depths they had reached in late January. But on Friday the International Energy Agency called a recent rise in oil prices a “head fake” and a “facade of stability.”

“The rebalancing (of supply and demand) triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course,” the agency wrote in its monthly oil market report.

On Friday, oil fell $2.21, or 5 percent, to $44.84 a barrel, within 40 cents of its low for the year of $44.45. Here’s what’s behind the recent drop, and what else to look out for in the coming months. (ap)

Britain applies to join Chinese-led Asian bank

BEIJING — Britain has become the first major Western government to apply for membership in a proposed Chinese-led Asian regional bank that Washington worries will undercut institutions such as the World Bank.

The British Treasury said Thursday it will join talks this month on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s structure and governance arrangements.

China proposed the bank in 2013 to finance construction of roads and other infrastructure. It has pledged to put up most of its initial $50 billion in capital.

Twenty-one other governments including India, New Zealand and Thailand have said they want to join. For now, the United States and its close allies Japan, South Korea and Australia are not part of the new club.

The bank is one of a series of initiatives by Beijing to increase its influence in global finance and expand trade links with Asian neighbors and developing countries in Africa and Latin America.

Washington has expressed concern the new Asian bank will allow looser lending standards for the environment, labor rights and financial transparency, undercutting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki described close ally Britain’s application to join the bank as a “sovereign decision” but reiterated U.S. concerns over the bank’s standards.

“We hope and expect that the United Kingdom will use its voice to push for the adoption of high standards,” Psaki told reporters in Washington on Friday.

China is the top trading partner for most of its neighbors. They want to promote commercial ties but are uneasy about Beijing’s strategic ambitions, especially at a time when it is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with Vietnam and other Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said Beijing welcomed Britain’s application to join the bank.

“The bank will be founded on the principle of openness. We welcome all prospective countries to join,” said Hong. “It will enable all prospective members to share Asia’s growth opportunities.”

Speaking in Tokyo, the World Bank president said Friday his Washington-based institution welcomes the new source of financing for infrastructure developing economies urgently need.

“We welcome the entry of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” said Jim Yong Kim, an American, at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. “We welcome it because of the extraordinary need for infrastructure.”

Beijing has tried to soothe security concerns, insisting its initiatives are not aimed at any potential foreign rival.

“The initiatives are not China’s solo, but a symphony performed by all relevant countries,” said Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week, according to state television.

The British Treasury’s announcement said it would try to ensure the Asian bank “embodies the best standards in accountability, transparency and governance.”

Joining will help Britain promote commercial ties with Asia, said the British finance minister, George Osborne, in the statement.

“Joining the AIIB at the founding stage will create an unrivalled opportunity for the U.K. and Asia to invest and grow together,” said Osborne.

Other member governments include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Oman, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia and Myanmar.

In May, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the creation of a new Asian structure for security cooperation based on a 24-nation group that excludes the United States. (ap)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

Modern era, consumers of bamboo wall remain high

BANGLI - Rapid development of modern building materials do not deter the intention of woven bamboo crafters at Sribatu hamlet, Penglumbaran village, Susut. So far, the production and the demand tend to increase both at the level of crafstmen and collectors reaching 50 sheets per day.

The high potential of bamboo craft at Sribatu hamlet made local residents pursue the woven bamboo craft as their profession. Today, the profession has become one of their supporting livelihood.

One of the bamboo wall craftsmen, I Ketut Nyepeg, said the current need of bamboo wall from several regions was very high, espe-

cially for the construction of villas.

Further, he said the bamboo wall could give traditional impression for the building and provide a natural feel. Behind the high demand, he said to often face the shortage of capital for production because the bamboo materials should be purchased. As a solution, he claimed to seek capital in the financial partner

and bamboo wall collectors. ”The damand is indeed high, but we are constrained by capital. We are forced to seek capital to financial partners,” he said.

What Nyepeg said was justified by another craftsman, Ni Wayan Kerti. She said her business was difficutl to develop due to the lack of capital. Making a bamboo wall

sizing 3x4 meters took her three days. Regarding the price, she sold it for IDR 250,000 per sheet.

Nevertheless, Kerti admitted to be able to run her business even though she sometimes experienced a shortage of capital. ”Thank God this business can roll out. The demand is also high, so that we dare to seek capital to financial partners,” she said.

A bamboo wall collector, Jro Ketut Sunadi, revealed the demand of bamboo wall was very high, especially in the construction of

5

villas in the countryside where they had switched to the use of bamboo wall. Though it was made from bamboo, the woven bamboo wall was said to be very strong and durable. Within a day, he was able to sell 50 pieces of bamboo wall sizing 3x4 meters. Further, he explained the price of bamboo wall remained stable, namely IDR 40,000 per square meter. ”Many people need the woven bamboo wall, especially for villa. The price is also affordable,” he said. (kmb45)

Melasti procession of Nyepi

Purify macrocosm and microcosm

By Nyepi celebration, most Hindu devotees in Bali organize Melis, Mekiyis or Melasti procession. It is performed by the majority of Hindus and not entirely because the tradition of Mekiyis or Melis itself is not implemented simultaneously. Everything is tailored to the local tradition flourishing in their respective region.

For example, Hindu devotees living in the southern region of Bali such as Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar execute the Melasti procession 3 days before Nyepi. From the morning until late afternoon, it can be ascertained that beaches in the three regions will be thronged by thousands of Hindu devotees who escort their respective venerated deities.

According to I Ketut Wiana, so far among the Hindus there was an understanding that interpreted the Melasti solely as bathing sanctified effigies or ritual paraphernalia. As a matter of fact, added Wiana, as a series of Nyepi festivity, Melasti had a very broad and profound meaning.

In the Aji Swamandala palmleaf manuscript is mentioned that Melasti ngarania ngiring prawatek Dewata anganyutaken laraning jagat, papa klesa, letuhing Bhu-

wana. This quotation means that the Melasti procession is meant to wash away the suffering of people (laraning jagat) as well as to get rid of suffering (papa klesa) and impurities of the universe (letuhing bhuwana). It is realized by carrying and escorting the sacred symbols to the sources of water such as sea, river or lake.

Meanwhile, the Sunarigama palm-leaf manuscript mentions that the purpose of Melasti is amet sarining amertha kamandalu ring telenging segara meaning to take the essence of life in the middle of ocean.

Melasti procession is conducted by a group of devotees who have clan or group temple. Sacred symbols such as pratima or sanctified effigies as manifestation of the venerated deities in the respective temple are gathered and settled in the pavilion of Bale Agung temple of customary village concerned.

At the specified time, Melasti is carried out in a parade or in Bali it is called mapeed where all sanctified symbols are carried to water sources such as sea, river or lake.

Peak of the Melasti procession is held at those springs. In essence, it means to pay devotion or bhakti to

God in his manifestation as the Lord Varuna. In the meantime, the end of such procession is marked by invoking holy water as a symbol of Amerta Kamandalu holy water obtained in the ocean. It is the essence of Melasti procession having more profound significance to direct people to always develop their desires based on sublime heart. Everything is inseparable from the presence of Kamandalu as holy water to meet the noble wishes.

Mapeed in Melasti procession itself has its own significance, namely spiritually cleanse the village environment. This purification is executed by presenting pratima and other sacred symbols.

The presence of pratima is believed to bring spiritual vibrations to the surrounding devotees. Related to this issue, probably there is an interesting phenomenon occurring within the

past few years on several customary villages where mapeed tradition in relation to Melasti is no longer held. To reach the beach as destination of Melasti, devotees escorting their venerated deities have used trucks. Various reasons are given behind this change in tradition. It ranges from the reason that beach destination of Melasti is far enough if covered on foot to the reason of traffic congestion caused by the mapeed procession.

One day after the Melasti is called Nyejer where a number of pratima representing the deities as manifestation of Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa or Supreme God abide in the Bale Agung, Village Temple or respective tem-

ple. The word Nyejer is derived from the jejer in Balinese language meaning ‘standstill and unshakable.’ In this Nyejer series, the devotees are actually taught to build a formidable sradha (belief) and bhakti (devotion) or strong belief in God. With a strong sense of divinity, human will be given the power to control their daily life that is often approached by various temptations.

If belief in God could have been upheld and well maintained, all temptations can be overcome well and properly. (kmb)

IBP/File Photo

By Nyepi celebration, most Hindu devotees in Bali organize Melis, Mekiyis or Melasti procession. It is performed by the majority of Hindus and not entirely because the tradition of Mekiyis or Melis itself is not implemented simultaneously.

6

Monday, March 16, 2015

W

RLD

AP Photo/World Vision

In this March 14, 2015, photo provided by World Vision debris is strewn around a lone tree in Port Vila, Vanuatu, after Cyclone Pamripped through the tiny South Pacific archipelago.

Vanuatu struggles to account for cyclone damage, deaths

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Officials struggled Sunday to determine the scale of the devastation wrought by a monstrous cyclone that tore through the tiny South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, with death counts varying in the single digits but expected to rise once communications are restored with outlying islands.

Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu early Saturday, packing winds of 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour, and leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.

Two people were confirmed dead in the capital, Port Vila, with another 20 injured there, said Paolo Malatu, coordinator for the National Disaster Management Office. Earlier, Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer, said Vanuatu’s disaster response office told her agency that at least eight people died.

She had also heard reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas.

The confusion over the death toll is due largely to a near-total communications blackout across the country.

With power lines and phone circuits down, officials in the capital had no way of knowing what the scope of the damage was on the outer islands, where the storm scored a direct hit.

“We haven’t been able to com-

municate outside Port Vila,” Malatu said. “At this point, the damage is severe and we haven’t had figures of how many houses destroyed. ...

It’s really bad, it’s really bad.” Officials are planning to head to the outer islands Monday in helicopters, small planes and military aircraft to get a better sense of the destruction, Malatu said.

Telephone networks are notoriously spotty in South Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu, particularly in the aftermath of storms. It often takes days before networks can be restored, making it incredibly difficult for officials to quickly analyze the breadth of devastation following natural disasters.

Vanuatu’s government has declared a nationwide state of emergency, and Australia and New Zealand have sent in relief supplies. Port Vila’s airport was damaged by the storm and closed for commercial flights, but the first delivery of supplies arrived Sunday from the Red Cross, Malatu said.

“People are really upset and it’s really hard, just because for the last couple of years, we haven’t received a really big cyclone like this one,” said Isso Nihmei, Vanuatu coordinator for the environmental and crisis response group 350. “Most people right now, they are really homeless.”

He came upon one of the storm’s victims on Saturday while surveying the damage along the coastline with other relief workers. The group spotted a man lying on the ground, not breathing, and rushed him to the hospital. By the time they arrived, however, he was dead, Nihmei said.

Structural damage across Port Vila was extensive, Nihmei said, with the majority of homes severely damaged or destroyed.

Some residents began cleaning up what was left of their wrecked houses and checking on family members.

Relief workers, meanwhile, were trying to get victims to temporary shelters as fast as possible, Nihmei said. (ap)

International

Suicide bombers kill 14 people outside Pakistani churches LAHORE, Pakistan — Suicide bombers exploded themselves near two churches in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday as worshippers were gathered inside, killing 14 people, officials said, in the latest attack against religious minorities in the country.

In the tense aftermath, angry mobs burned to death one person they believed was involved in the attack and tried to lynch another, said Haider Ashraf, deputy inspector general for Lahore. Two police who were protecting the churches were also killed in the explosions, which he said were caused by suicide bombers.

At least 70 people were wounded, said Zahid Pervez, the provincial director general of health, who gave the death toll. The explosions occurred in quick succession in the Christian neighborhood of Youhana Abad at two churches while parishioners were celebrating Sunday services inside.

The churches are about 600 meters (650 yards) apart. A spokesman for a Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility, saying it was the work of two suicide bombers.

One unidentified witness told Pakistan’s Geo television that the main gate to one of the churches targeted was closed so people were using a smaller gate. “One bomber exploded himself near that gate, that created chaos and during the course there was another blast,” he said.

In the aftermath of the blasts the mood quickly turned violent. Much of the country is on edge after years of militant violence including an attack on a Peshawar school in December that killed 150 people — mostly students.

Local television footage showed an angry crowd beating a person they thought was connected to the attack, while others attacked buses in the city. (ap)

China to press on with reform despite pain for some BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang expressed determination Sunday to press ahead with reforms meant to reduce the Chinese government’s role in the world’s second-largest economy in hopes of spurring growth despite what he acknowledged would be pain for “vested interests” that benefit from regulation.

“This is not nail-clipping. This is like taking a knife to one’s own flesh,” Li said at a news conference after the close of China’s annual legislature in Beijing. “But however painful it might be, we are determined to keep going until our job is done.”

During his only news conference of the year, the premier repeated pledges to reduce requirements for government approval of new businesses. He said the number of private businesses being set up has doubled following efforts already underway simplify the process of registering a new enterprise.

Li spoke after Sunday morning’s close of the 11-day session of the ceremonial National People’s Congress. The legislature does little or no lawmaking work but serves as a platform for the ruling Communist Party to highlight proposed reforms and set a tone for the year’s government work.

At this year’s meeting, the government lowered China’s official economic growth to 7 percent from last year’s 7.5 percent and promised to maintain employment levels, fight corruption and curb pollution.

Li acknowledged that reforms face opposition from politically influential state companies that might face tougher competition and officials

who might see their own status reduced.

“During the course of reform, vested interests will be upset because the government is cutting its own powers,” he said, adding that China as a whole will benefit. “This reform, by reducing powers held in the hands of government, has actually helped us to tackle the downward pressure on economic growth,” Li said.

The address by Li, 59, afforded him a rare opportunity to emerge from the shadow of the president and Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, who has established himself as the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping — author of China’s modernization drive in the 1980s.

Although the premier has traditionally overseen the economy and government administration, Xi has absorbed a growing number of portfolios over his first two years in office that have left Li a much diminished figure. Xi has placed himself in charge of policy-making panels on security, the Internet and the economy that do not answer to the NPC, making the legislature less relevant.

Li warned that meeting the lower official growth target will not be easy.

He said the ruling party is ready to change its macroeconomic strategies if the rate of new job creation dips too low.

“There is considerable downward pressure on China’s growth and we still face multiple challenges,” the premier said. “When it comes to China’s economy, we must meet both ends of maintaining steady growth and making structural adjustments.” (ap)

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

INDONESIA Government to optimize domestic gas absorption

JAKARTA - The Government of Indonesia will continue to optimize domestic gas absorption by developing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving terminals in numerous regions, according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

“If we want to use our own LNG in large quantity, we should have many receiving terminals in numerous regions across the country,” the vice president said after visiting Sodegaura LNG terminal in Japan on Sunday.

Kalla noted that Indonesia has a lot of gas resources but has yet to optimally use the liquefied natural gas, the envi-

ronmentally friendly energy resource.

According to him, Indonesia has made a lot of LNG shipping and distribution but still lack in receiving, because it was not supported by adequate supporting facility.

The vice president explained that the country was facing a number of obstacles, including enormous investment

of about US$1 billion, or equivalent to more than Rp10 trillion.

“Therefore we should have many LNG receiving terminals and deep sea ports,” the vice president said, adding that domestic LNG absorption was not optimal because of insufficient infrastructure and receiving terminals. (ant)

JAKARTA - Over the last few months, precious stones have been seen gaining popularity in Indonesia, with gemstone lovers across the country scurrying to buy the rocks. So it comes as no surprise that gemstone traders offering various kinds of precious stones are found not only in modern malls, traditional markets, roadsides and places frequented by customers, but also in events such as communal gatherings.

Exhibitions and online retail websites have also become effective platforms to sell gemstones, where transactions worth billions of rupiah are carried out.

For instance, a natural stone exhibition held in Aceh province this week concluded a transaction of Rp7 billion.

Websites that provide sales services also capitalize on the country’s booming precious stone market. Bukalapak.com, for example, can book hundreds of millions of rupiah in gemstones transactions per day.

In addition, stone lovers are looking to expand their markets abroad. The Aceh Natural Stone Lovers Association (GaPBA) will hold an exhibition in Malaysia of jade and other precious stones, Chairperson of GaPBA Nasrul Sufi said on Friday.

“We plan to hold the exhibition in the middle of the year. We will be going to Malaysia next week to coordinate with the government and other parties,” he added.

The precious stones that will be displayed during the exhibition include jade and other stones from Aceh.

“We hope that through the exhibition, the precious stones from Aceh will be internationally recognized for their high value,” Sufi remarked.

Earlier, the GaPBA had successfully organized a jade exhibition in Aceh, which closed a deal worth Rp7 billion.

“We are very satisfied with the proceeds of the exhibition. The total transactions

amounted to Rp7 billion,” Sufi affirmed in Banda Aceh on Thursday.

Following the success of the Aceh stone lovers exhibition, other regions are now interested to organize such expos as well, including Gorontalo in Sulawesi and West Sumatra province.

According to Deputy Mayor of Gorontalo City Budi Doku, the local government continues to support the development of the potential in natural resources, such as in jade and agate stones.

In support of the development of gemstones, the local government of Gorontalo will hold a national-scale agate stone exhibition from March 17 to 19.

Moreover, an exhibition on gemstones will also be held in West Sumatra province. According to Burhasman, the head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Office of West Sumatra province, his office will hold the Minangkabau Gemstone Jewelry Expo (Majex) from April 3 to 5. (ant)

Popularity of gemstones rises

ANTARA FOTO/Rudi Mulya

A buyer examined two gemstones at the center of gemstones in East Java. Over the last few months, precious stones have been seen gaining popularity in Indonesia, with gemstone lovers across the country scurrying to buy the rocks. So it comes as no surprise that gemstone traders offering various kinds of precious stones are found not only in modern malls, traditional markets, roadsides and places frequented by customers, but also in events such as communal gatherings.

11

Indonesia accuses US of breaking WTO rules with paper duties GENEVA - The World Trade Organization said Friday Indonesia had filed a complaint accusing Washington of breaching global trade rules by imposing punitive tariffs on its shipments of coated paper.

The WTO said it had been notified by Indonesia that it was requesting consultations on the US anti-dumping measures.

Requesting consultations is the first step in trade disputes before the Geneva-based body, which polices respect for global trade accords in an effort to offer its 160 member economies a level playing field.

The consultations, which allow the parties to discuss the matter and reach a solution without proceeding to litigation, must begin within 30 days and generally cannot last longer than two months.

If they fail to reach an agreement, the complainant can request that a panel of experts be established to study the dispute and reach a verdict. (afp)

Indonesian women, children held in Turkey ‘heading to join IS’

JAKARTA - Sixteen Indonesians, mostly women and children, have been arrested in Turkey attempting to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group, a minister said, the latest case of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East.

The 11 children, four women and one man from the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country were detained in the Turkish border town of Gaziantep. Officials did not say when they were arrested.

“We are still investigating... but it is clear that they wanted to join (IS) to have a better life in accordance with Islamic sharia laws,” Security Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno told reporters.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that a team was being dispatched to Turkey to work with authorities after the arrests.

Officials had previously revealed that a different group of 16 Indonesians went missing last month after joining a tour group to Turkey, and were also believed to be attempting to reach Syria.

Foreign nationals from around the world have been flocking to join the IS jihadists, who control vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, sparking alarm about the potential for radical fighters to return and launch attacks in their homelands.

The case of three British teenage girls crossing into Syria to join IS has caused consternation in Britain, while in Australia foreign minister Julie Bishop has warned young girls looking to become “jihadi brides” that IS is no “romantic adventure”.

Fears are also growing in Indonesia, which has long struggled with Islamic militancy -- the country’s counter-terror chief saying that more than 500 Indonesians are believed to have gone to fight with IS. Jakarta has already banned support for IS jihadists, although experts have called on authorities to take further steps to stop the flow of fighters.

Indonesia has waged a crackdown on terror groups over the past decade following attacks on Western targets, including the 2002 Bali bombings, that killed 202 people -- a campaign that has been credited with weakening key networks. (afp)

10

Destination

Monday, March 16, 2015

AMLAPURA - Tirtagangga Park is one of the tourist attractions located at Ababi Village, Abang Subdistrict. It is about 5 km north of Amlapura—the regency capital—built in 1948 by the King Anak Agung Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem.

Before the construction, the park was a large spring and local people called it embukan, meaning

Tirtagangga Park

spring. The spring was then taken advantage by surrounding villages as a source of drinking water and sacred purification for Ida Bathara (deities). On that account, the spring was made sacred by the locals. From this spring, the King of Karangasem then got the idea to build a park because it was greatly supported by the cool air and later on was named Tirtagangga Park.

Just as the Sukasada Ujung Park, the Tirtagangga Park had a close attachment to the Karangasem Grand Palace.

In the area of Tirtagangga Park sits several large ponds functioned as fish ponds and public bathing.

The water flowing through the large and small fountains then coming out of the mouth of the sculptures in the pool originates from the foun-

International

tain. Therefore, the water is cool and refreshing. Here, there are also fountains and tiered-lotus statues dividing it into two large ponds.

Today, the Tirtagangga Park has religious, social as well as entertainment function. Religiously, the spring at location is used as holy water by the surrounding community. In addition, it serves as a venue for organizing Deva Yajña

Sports

International

ritual and pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, the Tirtagangga springs is socially used by local government as a source of clean water for the people of Karangasem.

Then, as entertainment, the Tirtagangga is managed and developed into one of the tourist objects and attractions that is much in demand as well as visited by tourists as a place of recreation.

Monday, March 16, 2015

7

Celtics take control early, then hold off Pacers 93-89

INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Zeller scored 18 points, three other Celtics added 16 and Boston ended the Indiana Pacers’ seven-game winning streak with a 93-89 victory in the NBA Saturday night.

The Celtics have won four straight and moved into a tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a halfgame behind Charlotte for the final playoff spot. Indiana is seventh.

George Hill scored a seasonhigh 30 points for Indiana. C.J. Miles had 13. Boston took control with a 17-4 run that started late in the first quarter and ended midway through the second with a 32-20 lead. The Pacers spent the rest of the night playing catch-up. After Indiana trailed 45-37 at halftime, Hill scored six straight points to cap an 11-4 run that got the Pacers within one.

Boston responded by pushing the lead back to 54-48, closing the third quarter on an 8-4 spurt to make it 67-60 and taking a 77-66 lead early in the fourth on Marcus Smart’s 3.

The Pacers finally closed to 91-89 on Rodney Stuckey’s 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left, but Brandon Bass made two free throws to seal it.

Courtney Lee scored 17 points, Jeff Green and Zach Randolph added 15 apiece, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-83.

Beno Udrih, starting in place of

the injured Mike Conley, had 14 points as Memphis ended a twogame losing streak. Marc Gasol finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 19 points, shooting 7 of 10. Khris Middleton finished with 17, while Zaza Pachulia scored 14. Ersan Ilyasova added 12 for Milwaukee, which lost its second straight and ninth in the last 12. Memphis went 8 of 14 from 3-point range, with Vince Carter and Lee each making two.

Stephen Curry dazzled for 25 points and 11 assists playing on his 27th birthday, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 125-94 for its eighth straight home victory. Curry ended the first half with a contested 3-pointer from the top of the arc as he leaned in and let it go, legs off balance. He finished 6 of 10 on 3s.

Klay Thompson added 27 points with six 3s, and the Splash Brothers combined for 29 points by halftime to highlight a 47-point second quarter that blew open the game.

Andrea Bargnani had 18 points for the Knicks and Alexey Shved added 14. Thaddeus Young scored 21 points and the Brooklyn Nets broke its five-game losing streak with a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. (ap)

REUTERS/Brandon Malone

Second placed Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany (L) and race winner and team mate Lewis Hamilton of Britain spray champange on the podium after the Australian F1 Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne March 15, 2015.

Hamilton wins season-opening Australian GP

MELBOURNE - Lewis Hamilton’s world championship defence got off to a flying start on Sunday with a crushing victory for Mercedes in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Formula One rivals succumbed to a farcical rash of reliability problems. Pole-sitter Hamilton started from a grid reduced to 15 cars from a possible 20 and cruised to his 34th race win with a 1.3-second gap to runner-up team mate Nico Rosberg.

IBP/File Photo

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AP Photo/Doug McSchooler

Indiana Pacers forward Luis Scola (4) works to get his shot past the defense of Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 14, 2015, in Indianapolis.

With Mercedes enjoying a Sunday stroll, Sebastian Vettel finished third -- 34 seconds behind Hamilton -- on his Ferrari debut after winning a battle for the podium with Williams driver Felipe Massa. Ferrari’s cheer was tempered, however, by two botched tyre changes for Kimi Raikkonen, the second forcing the Finn to retire when fifth late in the race due to his left rear wheel not being properly attached.

Interviewed on the podium by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood ‘Terminator’, Hamilton said it was great to be back on top. “It is an incredible feeling to continue winning,” he said.

Max Verstappen’s record-setting turn as the youngest ever F1 driver ended on a sour note when the Dutch 17-year-old rolled to a stop near the pit entry after complaining of smoke in the cockpit of his Toro Rosso. Only 11 cars finished, with both Lotus drivers out before the end of the first lap on an embar-

rassing day for a series that prides itself on being the pinnacle of motorsport.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, standing in for the absent Fernando Alonso, and Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat were unable to start after both suffered failures on their formation laps. The two Manor Marussia cars were scratched on Saturday after failing to participate in qualifying or any practice sessions, while Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ruled out of the race with a back injury less than an hour before the start.

After a chaotic start that saw Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado crash into the barrier on turn two after being nudged from behind, Hamilton and Rosberg sped away from the chasing pack. Opening a 15-second gap to third placed Felipe Massa after the 20th lap, Hamilton successfully kept his team mate Rosberg at arm’s length.

Following a week of legal battles,

Sauber were buoyed by a fifth place finish for Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr, gaining their first points since 2013.

It was the best finish by a Sauber rookie, with Nasr’s team mate Marcus Ericsson and Red Bull’s Carlos Sainz also earning their first points by finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Local hero Daniel Ricciardo had a terrible start and his Red Bull lacked pace but he battled hard to finish sixth in front of home fans.

It was a dark day for Hondapowered McLaren, however, with Jenson Button finishing last of the 11 cars and lapped twice by Hamilton and the leaders.

Force India driver Sergio Perez had an eventful afternoon, being instructed to drop back two places after over-taking illegally when the safety car was out early. He then overcame a collision with Button in a battle to avoid the indignity of last place. (rtr)

8

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

Sp rt

Messi-inspired Barca riding high before City, ‘Clasico’

FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi of Argentina, kicks the ball before to scores during the La Liga soccer match between Eibar and Barcelona, at Ipurua stadium in Eibar, northern Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2015. Barcelona won the match 2-0.

Bayern routs Bremen 14-point lead in BERLIN — Thomas Mueller scored one goal and set up two more as Bayern Munich opened a 14-point lead in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 4-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday. Fine strikes from Mueller and David Alaba in the first half and two goals from Robert Lewandowski in the second secured the visitors’ sixth consecutive victory across all competitions and a healthy advantage over second-placed Wolfsburg, which hosts Freiburg on Sunday.

“Today was a day I was proud to be coach of this team,” said

Pep Guardiola, three days after his side defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in the Champions League.

Mueller opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a top-class curled effort inside the far post after Raphael Wolf blocked his initial effort, and Alaba put Bayern in a commanding position with a perfectly struck free kick before the break.

Bremen had a goal ruled out for a handball by Sebastian Proedl, but TV replays showed the Austrian was pulled back by Jerome Boateng and should have had a penalty. Tempers became frayed

after a series of bad challenges in the second half.

Mueller set up Lewandowski to score with a diving header in the 76th and then again in injury time for the Poland striker to complete the rout. “Individual quality was the difference I’d say,” Proedl said.

“Bayern played very smartly.”

Bayern was without Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben due to injuries, and Xabi Alonso due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Pepe Reina played in Bayern’s goal for the rested Manuel Neuer but had a quiet game, with one good save, while captain Philipp

tos en rri Ba ro va /Al oto

“But we have to focus on City because we are playing for our classification,” added the former Barca and Spain midfielder. “Then we will see what happens at the weekend.” (rtr)

Ph

112 for Barcelona and eight for Argentina.

He has 11 matches left in which to try to match or surpass his own record for goals in a La Liga season of 50 set in 2011-12. Speculation after the defeat at Sociedad that Messi and Luis Enrique had fallen out and the Argentine could even leave the club he joined as a 13-year-old has long been forgotten.

“We will go into the ‘Clasico’ as leaders and in perfect shape,” Luis Enrique told a news conference after Saturday’s victory.

AP

Levante later on Sunday. With Xavi and Andres Iniesta on the bench, Messi captained the side and put Barca ahead in the 31st minute when he converted a penalty.

The 27-year-old made it 2-0 with a header from a corner 10 minutes into the second half, his 32nd La Liga goal of the campaign and his 43rd in all competitions, two more than he managed in the whole of an injury-disrupted 2013-14. Two goals clear of Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo as La Liga’s leading marksman this term, Messi has scored at least twice in 120 matches for club and country,

9

Saint-Etienne wins 3-2 win at Metz in French league

MADRID - Treble-chasing Barcelona are exactly where they want to be as they prepare for two matches this week that could make or break coach Luis Enrique’s first season in charge.

Barca have won 16 of their 18 matches in 2015, their only blemishes defeats to Real Sociedad and Malaga in La Liga, and are in with a chance of repeating 2009’s historic haul of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup. Luis Enrique’s men take a 2-1 lead into Wednesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg at home to Manchester City, will be at least a point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga when they host their arch rivals on Sunday and are through to May’s King’s Cup final to face Athletic Bilbao.

A big reason Barca are riding high is the form of talisman Lionel Messi, who has been scoring for fun since the turn of the year.

The Argentina forward added two more goals in Saturday’s 2-0 La Liga win at Eibar, which put Barca four points clear of Real ahead of their match at home to

Monday, March 16, 2015

4-0, opens Bundesliga Lahm made a second-half appearance to return from his ankle injury. “It was nice to be back on the pitch again after such a long layoff,” said Lahm, who broke his right ankle in training on Nov. 18.

Elsewhere, Joel Matip scored in the last minute to salvage a 2-2 draw for Schalke at Hertha Berlin.

Eintracht Frankfurt routed promoted Paderborn 4-0, Hoffenheim defeated 10-man Hamburger SV 3-0, and Mainz won 2-0 at Augsburg, which missed the chance to capitalize on Schalke’s draw to move fifth. Borussia Dortmund

failed to impress in a scoreless draw with visiting Cologne in the late game.

The visitors wasted several good chances to take the lead, most notably when Brazilian striker Deyverson fired over early in the second half. Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn wasn’t called into action until the 66th, when he saved a defected Marco Reus effort, shortly before PierreEmerick Aubameyang had a goal ruled out for a blatant handball.

Dortmund hosts Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday. (ap)

PARIS — Ivory Coast winger Max-Alain Gradel scored for the fourth straight match as Saint-Etienne secured a 3-2 win at struggling Metz on Saturday to strengthen its hold on fifth place in the French league standings. SaintEtienne claimed its sixth away win of the season and moved four points clear of Montpellier and Bordeaux in the fight for European places, just one point behind Monaco.

Gradel put the visitors ahead in the 38th minute with a clinical finish from Romain Hamouma’s cross after be-

ing left unmarked in the area. Mevlut Erding doubled Saint-Etienne’s lead four minutes later after being set up by Hamouma in the back of the defense.

Kevin Lejeune pulled one back for Metz after the interval with a 20-meter strike in the top left corner before substitute Yohan Mollo gave Saint-Etienne more space to breathe from another assist by Hamouma.

Yeni Ngbakoto ensured a nervy finish with a last-minute penalty but Metz — chasing a first win since November

— slumped to a 17th defeat, ten points away from safety.

“I congratulate our strikers, who have shown determination and efficiency,” Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said. “This is a very important result for their individual self-belief and the team’s confidence. It bodes well for the final sprint.”

In Saturday’s other games, Lucas Barrios scored twice as sixth-placed Montpellier recovered from a 5-1 thrashing by Lyon with a 3-1 win over Reims. (ap)

Juventus grinds out 1-0 win at Palermo to go 14 points clear MILAN — Juventus managed to grind out a 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday despite missing a number of players and provisionally extended its Serie A lead to 14 points.

Substitute Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a curled shot into the left side of goal, 10 minutes after replacing Fernando Llorente.

“We performed well this evening, showed maturity and barely gave Palermo an inch,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “We could have done better after we had taken the lead, but a bit of tiredness crept in. “We’ve kept back-to-back clean sheets and tonight’s is one less victory that’s required for the title.” Juventus increased its advantage over Roma, which hosts Sampdoria on Monday.

It was only Palermo’s second home defeat of the season but it was also the Sicilian club’s third successive match without scoring a goal, extending its drought to 334 minutes. Also, a stoppage-time equalizer saw Empoli extend its unbeaten run to seven games with a 1-1 draw at Cagliari to ruin the return of coach Zdenek Zeman Juventus was without the suspended Paul Pogba, while Andrea Pirlo was still out injured, along with several other players. Allegri also rested several players ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League trip to Borussia Dortmund, for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Stefano Sturaro made his debut after seeing his loan spell at Genoa ended early in January. The midfielder disappointed and was taken off at halftime. Andrea Barzagli got his first start this season, having recovered from

repeated Achilles tendon problems.

Juventus had only one shot on target in the first half, courtesy of Carlos Tevez, while Palermo had none.

Matters improved little after the break until Morata was brought on.

Zeman was sacked by Cagliari before the winter break but was rehired on Monday after his replacement Gianfranco Zola was fired. He appeared to have had an immediate effect as Cagliari, which had lost five of its previous six matches, took the lead in the 20th minute. Diego Farias raced forward from midfield to set up Joao

Pedro, who curled into the far right side of goal from the edge of the box.

Joao Pedro also hit the post minutes later, as did Paul-Jose M’Poku.

Cagliari had only kept two clean sheets all season but looked on course for a crucial victory before Empoli leveled with almost the last kick of the game. The ball was rolled across the area and goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic mistimed his exit, allowing Matias Vecino to drive into an empty net. Cagliari moved three points from safety ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. (ap)

AP Photo/Alessandro Fucarini

Juventus’ Alvaro Morata jumps as he celebrates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Palermo and Juventus in Palermo, Italy, Saturday, March 14, 2015.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Burnley’s Scott Arfield makes his way from the pitch with the team mascot after his side’s 1-0 win during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor Stadium, Burnley, England, Saturday March 14, 2015.

Excited Dyche hails “fantastic” Burnley win over City LONDON - Sean Dyche was “jumping around inside” after a “fantastic night” that saw his Burnley team record a famous win over Manchester City at Turf Moor on Saturday. Manager Dyche felt the third from bottom club fully deserved their 1-0 victory, one that takes them within a point of safety and seriously dents City’s hopes of retaining their Premier League crown.

“The margins were tight but I think we edged it overall in a close game,” he told reporters. “I think the rewards were there for the team, individuals, the staff, myself and also the town and its fans. “I think they know they have a team, a staff and a manager who give them everything and I can only imagine that, as a fan, they appreciate that.

“It was a fantastic night for many reasons. I used to be calm when I was a player and I have never been one for running along the line and sliding on my knees until the job is done but trust me, inside there is someone jumping around.”

Dyche was also keen to give City praise, saying: “They are a fantastic team but for us to give a performance like that is a reward for everyone connected with the club”.

The home side stunned secondplaced City, who are now five points behind leaders Chelsea having played two games more, thanks to a superb half-volley from George Boyd after 61 minutes.

Dyche is hoping the win will be the spark that keeps his side in the league. “This doesn’t define our season,” he said, “but it might do. There is no guarantee so we have to be ready next week and beyond. “The players have a way of working and the demand to give everything is absolutely there so it bodes well for the future.”

Reflecting on Burnley’s first season back in the top flight, the 43-year-old Dyche said: “We have never been broken. We have been dented a few times and had a few knocks and clips across the jaw but we stay on our feet and get ready to go again”. (ap)

8

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

Sp rt

Messi-inspired Barca riding high before City, ‘Clasico’

FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi of Argentina, kicks the ball before to scores during the La Liga soccer match between Eibar and Barcelona, at Ipurua stadium in Eibar, northern Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2015. Barcelona won the match 2-0.

Bayern routs Bremen 14-point lead in BERLIN — Thomas Mueller scored one goal and set up two more as Bayern Munich opened a 14-point lead in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 4-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday. Fine strikes from Mueller and David Alaba in the first half and two goals from Robert Lewandowski in the second secured the visitors’ sixth consecutive victory across all competitions and a healthy advantage over second-placed Wolfsburg, which hosts Freiburg on Sunday.

“Today was a day I was proud to be coach of this team,” said

Pep Guardiola, three days after his side defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in the Champions League.

Mueller opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a top-class curled effort inside the far post after Raphael Wolf blocked his initial effort, and Alaba put Bayern in a commanding position with a perfectly struck free kick before the break.

Bremen had a goal ruled out for a handball by Sebastian Proedl, but TV replays showed the Austrian was pulled back by Jerome Boateng and should have had a penalty. Tempers became frayed

after a series of bad challenges in the second half.

Mueller set up Lewandowski to score with a diving header in the 76th and then again in injury time for the Poland striker to complete the rout. “Individual quality was the difference I’d say,” Proedl said.

“Bayern played very smartly.”

Bayern was without Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben due to injuries, and Xabi Alonso due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Pepe Reina played in Bayern’s goal for the rested Manuel Neuer but had a quiet game, with one good save, while captain Philipp

tos en rri Ba ro va /Al oto

“But we have to focus on City because we are playing for our classification,” added the former Barca and Spain midfielder. “Then we will see what happens at the weekend.” (rtr)

Ph

112 for Barcelona and eight for Argentina.

He has 11 matches left in which to try to match or surpass his own record for goals in a La Liga season of 50 set in 2011-12. Speculation after the defeat at Sociedad that Messi and Luis Enrique had fallen out and the Argentine could even leave the club he joined as a 13-year-old has long been forgotten.

“We will go into the ‘Clasico’ as leaders and in perfect shape,” Luis Enrique told a news conference after Saturday’s victory.

AP

Levante later on Sunday. With Xavi and Andres Iniesta on the bench, Messi captained the side and put Barca ahead in the 31st minute when he converted a penalty.

The 27-year-old made it 2-0 with a header from a corner 10 minutes into the second half, his 32nd La Liga goal of the campaign and his 43rd in all competitions, two more than he managed in the whole of an injury-disrupted 2013-14. Two goals clear of Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo as La Liga’s leading marksman this term, Messi has scored at least twice in 120 matches for club and country,

9

Saint-Etienne wins 3-2 win at Metz in French league

MADRID - Treble-chasing Barcelona are exactly where they want to be as they prepare for two matches this week that could make or break coach Luis Enrique’s first season in charge.

Barca have won 16 of their 18 matches in 2015, their only blemishes defeats to Real Sociedad and Malaga in La Liga, and are in with a chance of repeating 2009’s historic haul of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup. Luis Enrique’s men take a 2-1 lead into Wednesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg at home to Manchester City, will be at least a point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga when they host their arch rivals on Sunday and are through to May’s King’s Cup final to face Athletic Bilbao.

A big reason Barca are riding high is the form of talisman Lionel Messi, who has been scoring for fun since the turn of the year.

The Argentina forward added two more goals in Saturday’s 2-0 La Liga win at Eibar, which put Barca four points clear of Real ahead of their match at home to

Monday, March 16, 2015

4-0, opens Bundesliga Lahm made a second-half appearance to return from his ankle injury. “It was nice to be back on the pitch again after such a long layoff,” said Lahm, who broke his right ankle in training on Nov. 18.

Elsewhere, Joel Matip scored in the last minute to salvage a 2-2 draw for Schalke at Hertha Berlin.

Eintracht Frankfurt routed promoted Paderborn 4-0, Hoffenheim defeated 10-man Hamburger SV 3-0, and Mainz won 2-0 at Augsburg, which missed the chance to capitalize on Schalke’s draw to move fifth. Borussia Dortmund

failed to impress in a scoreless draw with visiting Cologne in the late game.

The visitors wasted several good chances to take the lead, most notably when Brazilian striker Deyverson fired over early in the second half. Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn wasn’t called into action until the 66th, when he saved a defected Marco Reus effort, shortly before PierreEmerick Aubameyang had a goal ruled out for a blatant handball.

Dortmund hosts Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday. (ap)

PARIS — Ivory Coast winger Max-Alain Gradel scored for the fourth straight match as Saint-Etienne secured a 3-2 win at struggling Metz on Saturday to strengthen its hold on fifth place in the French league standings. SaintEtienne claimed its sixth away win of the season and moved four points clear of Montpellier and Bordeaux in the fight for European places, just one point behind Monaco.

Gradel put the visitors ahead in the 38th minute with a clinical finish from Romain Hamouma’s cross after be-

ing left unmarked in the area. Mevlut Erding doubled Saint-Etienne’s lead four minutes later after being set up by Hamouma in the back of the defense.

Kevin Lejeune pulled one back for Metz after the interval with a 20-meter strike in the top left corner before substitute Yohan Mollo gave Saint-Etienne more space to breathe from another assist by Hamouma.

Yeni Ngbakoto ensured a nervy finish with a last-minute penalty but Metz — chasing a first win since November

— slumped to a 17th defeat, ten points away from safety.

“I congratulate our strikers, who have shown determination and efficiency,” Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said. “This is a very important result for their individual self-belief and the team’s confidence. It bodes well for the final sprint.”

In Saturday’s other games, Lucas Barrios scored twice as sixth-placed Montpellier recovered from a 5-1 thrashing by Lyon with a 3-1 win over Reims. (ap)

Juventus grinds out 1-0 win at Palermo to go 14 points clear MILAN — Juventus managed to grind out a 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday despite missing a number of players and provisionally extended its Serie A lead to 14 points.

Substitute Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a curled shot into the left side of goal, 10 minutes after replacing Fernando Llorente.

“We performed well this evening, showed maturity and barely gave Palermo an inch,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “We could have done better after we had taken the lead, but a bit of tiredness crept in. “We’ve kept back-to-back clean sheets and tonight’s is one less victory that’s required for the title.” Juventus increased its advantage over Roma, which hosts Sampdoria on Monday.

It was only Palermo’s second home defeat of the season but it was also the Sicilian club’s third successive match without scoring a goal, extending its drought to 334 minutes. Also, a stoppage-time equalizer saw Empoli extend its unbeaten run to seven games with a 1-1 draw at Cagliari to ruin the return of coach Zdenek Zeman Juventus was without the suspended Paul Pogba, while Andrea Pirlo was still out injured, along with several other players. Allegri also rested several players ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League trip to Borussia Dortmund, for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Stefano Sturaro made his debut after seeing his loan spell at Genoa ended early in January. The midfielder disappointed and was taken off at halftime. Andrea Barzagli got his first start this season, having recovered from

repeated Achilles tendon problems.

Juventus had only one shot on target in the first half, courtesy of Carlos Tevez, while Palermo had none.

Matters improved little after the break until Morata was brought on.

Zeman was sacked by Cagliari before the winter break but was rehired on Monday after his replacement Gianfranco Zola was fired. He appeared to have had an immediate effect as Cagliari, which had lost five of its previous six matches, took the lead in the 20th minute. Diego Farias raced forward from midfield to set up Joao

Pedro, who curled into the far right side of goal from the edge of the box.

Joao Pedro also hit the post minutes later, as did Paul-Jose M’Poku.

Cagliari had only kept two clean sheets all season but looked on course for a crucial victory before Empoli leveled with almost the last kick of the game. The ball was rolled across the area and goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic mistimed his exit, allowing Matias Vecino to drive into an empty net. Cagliari moved three points from safety ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. (ap)

AP Photo/Alessandro Fucarini

Juventus’ Alvaro Morata jumps as he celebrates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Palermo and Juventus in Palermo, Italy, Saturday, March 14, 2015.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Burnley’s Scott Arfield makes his way from the pitch with the team mascot after his side’s 1-0 win during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor Stadium, Burnley, England, Saturday March 14, 2015.

Excited Dyche hails “fantastic” Burnley win over City LONDON - Sean Dyche was “jumping around inside” after a “fantastic night” that saw his Burnley team record a famous win over Manchester City at Turf Moor on Saturday. Manager Dyche felt the third from bottom club fully deserved their 1-0 victory, one that takes them within a point of safety and seriously dents City’s hopes of retaining their Premier League crown.

“The margins were tight but I think we edged it overall in a close game,” he told reporters. “I think the rewards were there for the team, individuals, the staff, myself and also the town and its fans. “I think they know they have a team, a staff and a manager who give them everything and I can only imagine that, as a fan, they appreciate that.

“It was a fantastic night for many reasons. I used to be calm when I was a player and I have never been one for running along the line and sliding on my knees until the job is done but trust me, inside there is someone jumping around.”

Dyche was also keen to give City praise, saying: “They are a fantastic team but for us to give a performance like that is a reward for everyone connected with the club”.

The home side stunned secondplaced City, who are now five points behind leaders Chelsea having played two games more, thanks to a superb half-volley from George Boyd after 61 minutes.

Dyche is hoping the win will be the spark that keeps his side in the league. “This doesn’t define our season,” he said, “but it might do. There is no guarantee so we have to be ready next week and beyond. “The players have a way of working and the demand to give everything is absolutely there so it bodes well for the future.”

Reflecting on Burnley’s first season back in the top flight, the 43-year-old Dyche said: “We have never been broken. We have been dented a few times and had a few knocks and clips across the jaw but we stay on our feet and get ready to go again”. (ap)

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Destination

Monday, March 16, 2015

AMLAPURA - Tirtagangga Park is one of the tourist attractions located at Ababi Village, Abang Subdistrict. It is about 5 km north of Amlapura—the regency capital—built in 1948 by the King Anak Agung Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem.

Before the construction, the park was a large spring and local people called it embukan, meaning

Tirtagangga Park

spring. The spring was then taken advantage by surrounding villages as a source of drinking water and sacred purification for Ida Bathara (deities). On that account, the spring was made sacred by the locals. From this spring, the King of Karangasem then got the idea to build a park because it was greatly supported by the cool air and later on was named Tirtagangga Park.

Just as the Sukasada Ujung Park, the Tirtagangga Park had a close attachment to the Karangasem Grand Palace.

In the area of Tirtagangga Park sits several large ponds functioned as fish ponds and public bathing.

The water flowing through the large and small fountains then coming out of the mouth of the sculptures in the pool originates from the foun-

International

tain. Therefore, the water is cool and refreshing. Here, there are also fountains and tiered-lotus statues dividing it into two large ponds.

Today, the Tirtagangga Park has religious, social as well as entertainment function. Religiously, the spring at location is used as holy water by the surrounding community. In addition, it serves as a venue for organizing Deva Yajña

Sports

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ritual and pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, the Tirtagangga springs is socially used by local government as a source of clean water for the people of Karangasem.

Then, as entertainment, the Tirtagangga is managed and developed into one of the tourist objects and attractions that is much in demand as well as visited by tourists as a place of recreation.

Monday, March 16, 2015

7

Celtics take control early, then hold off Pacers 93-89

INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Zeller scored 18 points, three other Celtics added 16 and Boston ended the Indiana Pacers’ seven-game winning streak with a 93-89 victory in the NBA Saturday night.

The Celtics have won four straight and moved into a tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a halfgame behind Charlotte for the final playoff spot. Indiana is seventh.

George Hill scored a seasonhigh 30 points for Indiana. C.J. Miles had 13. Boston took control with a 17-4 run that started late in the first quarter and ended midway through the second with a 32-20 lead. The Pacers spent the rest of the night playing catch-up. After Indiana trailed 45-37 at halftime, Hill scored six straight points to cap an 11-4 run that got the Pacers within one.

Boston responded by pushing the lead back to 54-48, closing the third quarter on an 8-4 spurt to make it 67-60 and taking a 77-66 lead early in the fourth on Marcus Smart’s 3.

The Pacers finally closed to 91-89 on Rodney Stuckey’s 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left, but Brandon Bass made two free throws to seal it.

Courtney Lee scored 17 points, Jeff Green and Zach Randolph added 15 apiece, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-83.

Beno Udrih, starting in place of

the injured Mike Conley, had 14 points as Memphis ended a twogame losing streak. Marc Gasol finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 19 points, shooting 7 of 10. Khris Middleton finished with 17, while Zaza Pachulia scored 14. Ersan Ilyasova added 12 for Milwaukee, which lost its second straight and ninth in the last 12. Memphis went 8 of 14 from 3-point range, with Vince Carter and Lee each making two.

Stephen Curry dazzled for 25 points and 11 assists playing on his 27th birthday, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 125-94 for its eighth straight home victory. Curry ended the first half with a contested 3-pointer from the top of the arc as he leaned in and let it go, legs off balance. He finished 6 of 10 on 3s.

Klay Thompson added 27 points with six 3s, and the Splash Brothers combined for 29 points by halftime to highlight a 47-point second quarter that blew open the game.

Andrea Bargnani had 18 points for the Knicks and Alexey Shved added 14. Thaddeus Young scored 21 points and the Brooklyn Nets broke its five-game losing streak with a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. (ap)

REUTERS/Brandon Malone

Second placed Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany (L) and race winner and team mate Lewis Hamilton of Britain spray champange on the podium after the Australian F1 Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne March 15, 2015.

Hamilton wins season-opening Australian GP

MELBOURNE - Lewis Hamilton’s world championship defence got off to a flying start on Sunday with a crushing victory for Mercedes in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Formula One rivals succumbed to a farcical rash of reliability problems. Pole-sitter Hamilton started from a grid reduced to 15 cars from a possible 20 and cruised to his 34th race win with a 1.3-second gap to runner-up team mate Nico Rosberg.

IBP/File Photo

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AP Photo/Doug McSchooler

Indiana Pacers forward Luis Scola (4) works to get his shot past the defense of Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 14, 2015, in Indianapolis.

With Mercedes enjoying a Sunday stroll, Sebastian Vettel finished third -- 34 seconds behind Hamilton -- on his Ferrari debut after winning a battle for the podium with Williams driver Felipe Massa. Ferrari’s cheer was tempered, however, by two botched tyre changes for Kimi Raikkonen, the second forcing the Finn to retire when fifth late in the race due to his left rear wheel not being properly attached.

Interviewed on the podium by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood ‘Terminator’, Hamilton said it was great to be back on top. “It is an incredible feeling to continue winning,” he said.

Max Verstappen’s record-setting turn as the youngest ever F1 driver ended on a sour note when the Dutch 17-year-old rolled to a stop near the pit entry after complaining of smoke in the cockpit of his Toro Rosso. Only 11 cars finished, with both Lotus drivers out before the end of the first lap on an embar-

rassing day for a series that prides itself on being the pinnacle of motorsport.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, standing in for the absent Fernando Alonso, and Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat were unable to start after both suffered failures on their formation laps. The two Manor Marussia cars were scratched on Saturday after failing to participate in qualifying or any practice sessions, while Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ruled out of the race with a back injury less than an hour before the start.

After a chaotic start that saw Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado crash into the barrier on turn two after being nudged from behind, Hamilton and Rosberg sped away from the chasing pack. Opening a 15-second gap to third placed Felipe Massa after the 20th lap, Hamilton successfully kept his team mate Rosberg at arm’s length.

Following a week of legal battles,

Sauber were buoyed by a fifth place finish for Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr, gaining their first points since 2013.

It was the best finish by a Sauber rookie, with Nasr’s team mate Marcus Ericsson and Red Bull’s Carlos Sainz also earning their first points by finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Local hero Daniel Ricciardo had a terrible start and his Red Bull lacked pace but he battled hard to finish sixth in front of home fans.

It was a dark day for Hondapowered McLaren, however, with Jenson Button finishing last of the 11 cars and lapped twice by Hamilton and the leaders.

Force India driver Sergio Perez had an eventful afternoon, being instructed to drop back two places after over-taking illegally when the safety car was out early. He then overcame a collision with Button in a battle to avoid the indignity of last place. (rtr)

6

Monday, March 16, 2015

W

RLD

AP Photo/World Vision

In this March 14, 2015, photo provided by World Vision debris is strewn around a lone tree in Port Vila, Vanuatu, after Cyclone Pamripped through the tiny South Pacific archipelago.

Vanuatu struggles to account for cyclone damage, deaths

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Officials struggled Sunday to determine the scale of the devastation wrought by a monstrous cyclone that tore through the tiny South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, with death counts varying in the single digits but expected to rise once communications are restored with outlying islands.

Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu early Saturday, packing winds of 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour, and leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.

Two people were confirmed dead in the capital, Port Vila, with another 20 injured there, said Paolo Malatu, coordinator for the National Disaster Management Office. Earlier, Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer, said Vanuatu’s disaster response office told her agency that at least eight people died.

She had also heard reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas.

The confusion over the death toll is due largely to a near-total communications blackout across the country.

With power lines and phone circuits down, officials in the capital had no way of knowing what the scope of the damage was on the outer islands, where the storm scored a direct hit.

“We haven’t been able to com-

municate outside Port Vila,” Malatu said. “At this point, the damage is severe and we haven’t had figures of how many houses destroyed. ...

It’s really bad, it’s really bad.” Officials are planning to head to the outer islands Monday in helicopters, small planes and military aircraft to get a better sense of the destruction, Malatu said.

Telephone networks are notoriously spotty in South Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu, particularly in the aftermath of storms. It often takes days before networks can be restored, making it incredibly difficult for officials to quickly analyze the breadth of devastation following natural disasters.

Vanuatu’s government has declared a nationwide state of emergency, and Australia and New Zealand have sent in relief supplies. Port Vila’s airport was damaged by the storm and closed for commercial flights, but the first delivery of supplies arrived Sunday from the Red Cross, Malatu said.

“People are really upset and it’s really hard, just because for the last couple of years, we haven’t received a really big cyclone like this one,” said Isso Nihmei, Vanuatu coordinator for the environmental and crisis response group 350. “Most people right now, they are really homeless.”

He came upon one of the storm’s victims on Saturday while surveying the damage along the coastline with other relief workers. The group spotted a man lying on the ground, not breathing, and rushed him to the hospital. By the time they arrived, however, he was dead, Nihmei said.

Structural damage across Port Vila was extensive, Nihmei said, with the majority of homes severely damaged or destroyed.

Some residents began cleaning up what was left of their wrecked houses and checking on family members.

Relief workers, meanwhile, were trying to get victims to temporary shelters as fast as possible, Nihmei said. (ap)

International

Suicide bombers kill 14 people outside Pakistani churches LAHORE, Pakistan — Suicide bombers exploded themselves near two churches in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday as worshippers were gathered inside, killing 14 people, officials said, in the latest attack against religious minorities in the country.

In the tense aftermath, angry mobs burned to death one person they believed was involved in the attack and tried to lynch another, said Haider Ashraf, deputy inspector general for Lahore. Two police who were protecting the churches were also killed in the explosions, which he said were caused by suicide bombers.

At least 70 people were wounded, said Zahid Pervez, the provincial director general of health, who gave the death toll. The explosions occurred in quick succession in the Christian neighborhood of Youhana Abad at two churches while parishioners were celebrating Sunday services inside.

The churches are about 600 meters (650 yards) apart. A spokesman for a Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility, saying it was the work of two suicide bombers.

One unidentified witness told Pakistan’s Geo television that the main gate to one of the churches targeted was closed so people were using a smaller gate. “One bomber exploded himself near that gate, that created chaos and during the course there was another blast,” he said.

In the aftermath of the blasts the mood quickly turned violent. Much of the country is on edge after years of militant violence including an attack on a Peshawar school in December that killed 150 people — mostly students.

Local television footage showed an angry crowd beating a person they thought was connected to the attack, while others attacked buses in the city. (ap)

China to press on with reform despite pain for some BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang expressed determination Sunday to press ahead with reforms meant to reduce the Chinese government’s role in the world’s second-largest economy in hopes of spurring growth despite what he acknowledged would be pain for “vested interests” that benefit from regulation.

“This is not nail-clipping. This is like taking a knife to one’s own flesh,” Li said at a news conference after the close of China’s annual legislature in Beijing. “But however painful it might be, we are determined to keep going until our job is done.”

During his only news conference of the year, the premier repeated pledges to reduce requirements for government approval of new businesses. He said the number of private businesses being set up has doubled following efforts already underway simplify the process of registering a new enterprise.

Li spoke after Sunday morning’s close of the 11-day session of the ceremonial National People’s Congress. The legislature does little or no lawmaking work but serves as a platform for the ruling Communist Party to highlight proposed reforms and set a tone for the year’s government work.

At this year’s meeting, the government lowered China’s official economic growth to 7 percent from last year’s 7.5 percent and promised to maintain employment levels, fight corruption and curb pollution.

Li acknowledged that reforms face opposition from politically influential state companies that might face tougher competition and officials

who might see their own status reduced.

“During the course of reform, vested interests will be upset because the government is cutting its own powers,” he said, adding that China as a whole will benefit. “This reform, by reducing powers held in the hands of government, has actually helped us to tackle the downward pressure on economic growth,” Li said.

The address by Li, 59, afforded him a rare opportunity to emerge from the shadow of the president and Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, who has established himself as the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping — author of China’s modernization drive in the 1980s.

Although the premier has traditionally overseen the economy and government administration, Xi has absorbed a growing number of portfolios over his first two years in office that have left Li a much diminished figure. Xi has placed himself in charge of policy-making panels on security, the Internet and the economy that do not answer to the NPC, making the legislature less relevant.

Li warned that meeting the lower official growth target will not be easy.

He said the ruling party is ready to change its macroeconomic strategies if the rate of new job creation dips too low.

“There is considerable downward pressure on China’s growth and we still face multiple challenges,” the premier said. “When it comes to China’s economy, we must meet both ends of maintaining steady growth and making structural adjustments.” (ap)

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

INDONESIA Government to optimize domestic gas absorption

JAKARTA - The Government of Indonesia will continue to optimize domestic gas absorption by developing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving terminals in numerous regions, according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

“If we want to use our own LNG in large quantity, we should have many receiving terminals in numerous regions across the country,” the vice president said after visiting Sodegaura LNG terminal in Japan on Sunday.

Kalla noted that Indonesia has a lot of gas resources but has yet to optimally use the liquefied natural gas, the envi-

ronmentally friendly energy resource.

According to him, Indonesia has made a lot of LNG shipping and distribution but still lack in receiving, because it was not supported by adequate supporting facility.

The vice president explained that the country was facing a number of obstacles, including enormous investment

of about US$1 billion, or equivalent to more than Rp10 trillion.

“Therefore we should have many LNG receiving terminals and deep sea ports,” the vice president said, adding that domestic LNG absorption was not optimal because of insufficient infrastructure and receiving terminals. (ant)

JAKARTA - Over the last few months, precious stones have been seen gaining popularity in Indonesia, with gemstone lovers across the country scurrying to buy the rocks. So it comes as no surprise that gemstone traders offering various kinds of precious stones are found not only in modern malls, traditional markets, roadsides and places frequented by customers, but also in events such as communal gatherings.

Exhibitions and online retail websites have also become effective platforms to sell gemstones, where transactions worth billions of rupiah are carried out.

For instance, a natural stone exhibition held in Aceh province this week concluded a transaction of Rp7 billion.

Websites that provide sales services also capitalize on the country’s booming precious stone market. Bukalapak.com, for example, can book hundreds of millions of rupiah in gemstones transactions per day.

In addition, stone lovers are looking to expand their markets abroad. The Aceh Natural Stone Lovers Association (GaPBA) will hold an exhibition in Malaysia of jade and other precious stones, Chairperson of GaPBA Nasrul Sufi said on Friday.

“We plan to hold the exhibition in the middle of the year. We will be going to Malaysia next week to coordinate with the government and other parties,” he added.

The precious stones that will be displayed during the exhibition include jade and other stones from Aceh.

“We hope that through the exhibition, the precious stones from Aceh will be internationally recognized for their high value,” Sufi remarked.

Earlier, the GaPBA had successfully organized a jade exhibition in Aceh, which closed a deal worth Rp7 billion.

“We are very satisfied with the proceeds of the exhibition. The total transactions

amounted to Rp7 billion,” Sufi affirmed in Banda Aceh on Thursday.

Following the success of the Aceh stone lovers exhibition, other regions are now interested to organize such expos as well, including Gorontalo in Sulawesi and West Sumatra province.

According to Deputy Mayor of Gorontalo City Budi Doku, the local government continues to support the development of the potential in natural resources, such as in jade and agate stones.

In support of the development of gemstones, the local government of Gorontalo will hold a national-scale agate stone exhibition from March 17 to 19.

Moreover, an exhibition on gemstones will also be held in West Sumatra province. According to Burhasman, the head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Office of West Sumatra province, his office will hold the Minangkabau Gemstone Jewelry Expo (Majex) from April 3 to 5. (ant)

Popularity of gemstones rises

ANTARA FOTO/Rudi Mulya

A buyer examined two gemstones at the center of gemstones in East Java. Over the last few months, precious stones have been seen gaining popularity in Indonesia, with gemstone lovers across the country scurrying to buy the rocks. So it comes as no surprise that gemstone traders offering various kinds of precious stones are found not only in modern malls, traditional markets, roadsides and places frequented by customers, but also in events such as communal gatherings.

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Indonesia accuses US of breaking WTO rules with paper duties GENEVA - The World Trade Organization said Friday Indonesia had filed a complaint accusing Washington of breaching global trade rules by imposing punitive tariffs on its shipments of coated paper.

The WTO said it had been notified by Indonesia that it was requesting consultations on the US anti-dumping measures.

Requesting consultations is the first step in trade disputes before the Geneva-based body, which polices respect for global trade accords in an effort to offer its 160 member economies a level playing field.

The consultations, which allow the parties to discuss the matter and reach a solution without proceeding to litigation, must begin within 30 days and generally cannot last longer than two months.

If they fail to reach an agreement, the complainant can request that a panel of experts be established to study the dispute and reach a verdict. (afp)

Indonesian women, children held in Turkey ‘heading to join IS’

JAKARTA - Sixteen Indonesians, mostly women and children, have been arrested in Turkey attempting to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group, a minister said, the latest case of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East.

The 11 children, four women and one man from the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country were detained in the Turkish border town of Gaziantep. Officials did not say when they were arrested.

“We are still investigating... but it is clear that they wanted to join (IS) to have a better life in accordance with Islamic sharia laws,” Security Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno told reporters.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that a team was being dispatched to Turkey to work with authorities after the arrests.

Officials had previously revealed that a different group of 16 Indonesians went missing last month after joining a tour group to Turkey, and were also believed to be attempting to reach Syria.

Foreign nationals from around the world have been flocking to join the IS jihadists, who control vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, sparking alarm about the potential for radical fighters to return and launch attacks in their homelands.

The case of three British teenage girls crossing into Syria to join IS has caused consternation in Britain, while in Australia foreign minister Julie Bishop has warned young girls looking to become “jihadi brides” that IS is no “romantic adventure”.

Fears are also growing in Indonesia, which has long struggled with Islamic militancy -- the country’s counter-terror chief saying that more than 500 Indonesians are believed to have gone to fight with IS. Jakarta has already banned support for IS jihadists, although experts have called on authorities to take further steps to stop the flow of fighters.

Indonesia has waged a crackdown on terror groups over the past decade following attacks on Western targets, including the 2002 Bali bombings, that killed 202 people -- a campaign that has been credited with weakening key networks. (afp)

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International

Monday, March 16, 2015

BUSINESS China has ‘ample’ room for stimulus

BEIJING - The Chinese government has more weapons in its arsenal to boost the world’s second-largest economy, Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday as he sought to ease concerns about flagging growth.

Li earlier this month reduced China’s annual growth target to “approximately seven percent”, the lowest since a similar goal in 2004.

The economy expanded 7.4 percent last year, the slowest pace in nearly a quarter of a century.

Fears are growing that Chinese expansion, a key driver of the global economy, may slow further after official data released last week showed production, consumption and investment growth all fell to multi-year lows.

Authorities have so far avoided big-ticket incentives to bolster growth like the unprecedented fourtrillion-yuan (now $640 billion) stimulus package Beijing deployed at the height of the global financial crisis.

But Li signalled that more measures could be taken, telling reporters at his annual press conference: “We still have a host of policy instruments at our disposal.”

Beijing was prepared to “step up our targeted macro-economic regulation” to boost market confidence if growth slowed to approach the “lower limit of our proper range”

and threatened employment and incomes.

“The good news is that in the past couple of years we did not resort to massive stimulus measures for economic growth,” he said after the close of the country’s Communist-controlled National People’s Congress legislature.

That gave authorities “fairly ample room” to act, he said.

Top Chinese leaders have said the economy is in a delicate transition away from decades of doubledigit annual growth to a new, slower model that authorities say is more sustainable, a stage that they have branded as “new normal”.

Li dismissed theories that China’s boom has seen it overtake the US to become the world’s number one economy, describing such purchasing power parity calculations as a “misleading exaggeration”.

“According to authoritative standards, China is still the second-largest economy in the world,” he said, stressing that it remained “behind about 80 countries in the world” in terms of per capita GDP. He recalled a recent visit he

paid to two rural families in the nation’s remote and backward west, where he met a man in his 40s who could not afford to marry and a college student who depended on his younger sister’s income as a migrant worker in the cities to pay his tuition fees.

“It truly pains me to see our people living in such distress and I’m sure that there are many more such families in the vast land of China,” he said, adding nearly 200 million Chinese remained in poverty by World Bank standards.

“China is still a developing country in every sense of this term.”

Underlining official concerns over the economy, the central People’s Bank of China cut benchmark deposit and lending interest rates in late February for the second time in three months, citing “historically low inflation”.

Consumer inflation fell in January to a more-than-five-year low of 0.8 percent. It rebounded to 1.4 percent last month during the Chinese New Year holiday but remained far below this year’s government target of “around three percent”. (afp)

Oil is on its way down again

AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File

In this Jan. 23, 2015, file photo, vehicles form a line behind a motorist re-fueling at a gas station, in Newark, N.J. Oil has fallen close to its lowest level in 6 years, and many expect it to fall much further in the coming weeks because supplies are still heading up and the summer driving season is still months away.

NEW YORK — The price of oil is tumbling again, rattling an already-shaken oil industry and heralding lower prices for consumers.

The price of oil fell 10 percent this week, approaching its lowest price in six years. Many expect it to fall further in the coming weeks because supplies are rising and the summer driving season is still months away.

The lower crude prices will mean gasoline prices will slide lower in the coming weeks, and many drivers will likely pay under $2 a gallon in the summertime for the first time since 2004.

Oil prices had appeared to stabilize in a range nearly 15 percent higher than the depths they had reached in late January. But on Friday the International Energy Agency called a recent rise in oil prices a “head fake” and a “facade of stability.”

“The rebalancing (of supply and demand) triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course,” the agency wrote in its monthly oil market report.

On Friday, oil fell $2.21, or 5 percent, to $44.84 a barrel, within 40 cents of its low for the year of $44.45. Here’s what’s behind the recent drop, and what else to look out for in the coming months. (ap)

Britain applies to join Chinese-led Asian bank

BEIJING — Britain has become the first major Western government to apply for membership in a proposed Chinese-led Asian regional bank that Washington worries will undercut institutions such as the World Bank.

The British Treasury said Thursday it will join talks this month on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s structure and governance arrangements.

China proposed the bank in 2013 to finance construction of roads and other infrastructure. It has pledged to put up most of its initial $50 billion in capital.

Twenty-one other governments including India, New Zealand and Thailand have said they want to join. For now, the United States and its close allies Japan, South Korea and Australia are not part of the new club.

The bank is one of a series of initiatives by Beijing to increase its influence in global finance and expand trade links with Asian neighbors and developing countries in Africa and Latin America.

Washington has expressed concern the new Asian bank will allow looser lending standards for the environment, labor rights and financial transparency, undercutting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki described close ally Britain’s application to join the bank as a “sovereign decision” but reiterated U.S. concerns over the bank’s standards.

“We hope and expect that the United Kingdom will use its voice to push for the adoption of high standards,” Psaki told reporters in Washington on Friday.

China is the top trading partner for most of its neighbors. They want to promote commercial ties but are uneasy about Beijing’s strategic ambitions, especially at a time when it is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with Vietnam and other Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said Beijing welcomed Britain’s application to join the bank.

“The bank will be founded on the principle of openness. We welcome all prospective countries to join,” said Hong. “It will enable all prospective members to share Asia’s growth opportunities.”

Speaking in Tokyo, the World Bank president said Friday his Washington-based institution welcomes the new source of financing for infrastructure developing economies urgently need.

“We welcome the entry of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” said Jim Yong Kim, an American, at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. “We welcome it because of the extraordinary need for infrastructure.”

Beijing has tried to soothe security concerns, insisting its initiatives are not aimed at any potential foreign rival.

“The initiatives are not China’s solo, but a symphony performed by all relevant countries,” said Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week, according to state television.

The British Treasury’s announcement said it would try to ensure the Asian bank “embodies the best standards in accountability, transparency and governance.”

Joining will help Britain promote commercial ties with Asia, said the British finance minister, George Osborne, in the statement.

“Joining the AIIB at the founding stage will create an unrivalled opportunity for the U.K. and Asia to invest and grow together,” said Osborne.

Other member governments include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Oman, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia and Myanmar.

In May, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the creation of a new Asian structure for security cooperation based on a 24-nation group that excludes the United States. (ap)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

Modern era, consumers of bamboo wall remain high

BANGLI - Rapid development of modern building materials do not deter the intention of woven bamboo crafters at Sribatu hamlet, Penglumbaran village, Susut. So far, the production and the demand tend to increase both at the level of crafstmen and collectors reaching 50 sheets per day.

The high potential of bamboo craft at Sribatu hamlet made local residents pursue the woven bamboo craft as their profession. Today, the profession has become one of their supporting livelihood.

One of the bamboo wall craftsmen, I Ketut Nyepeg, said the current need of bamboo wall from several regions was very high, espe-

cially for the construction of villas.

Further, he said the bamboo wall could give traditional impression for the building and provide a natural feel. Behind the high demand, he said to often face the shortage of capital for production because the bamboo materials should be purchased. As a solution, he claimed to seek capital in the financial partner

and bamboo wall collectors. ”The damand is indeed high, but we are constrained by capital. We are forced to seek capital to financial partners,” he said.

What Nyepeg said was justified by another craftsman, Ni Wayan Kerti. She said her business was difficutl to develop due to the lack of capital. Making a bamboo wall

sizing 3x4 meters took her three days. Regarding the price, she sold it for IDR 250,000 per sheet.

Nevertheless, Kerti admitted to be able to run her business even though she sometimes experienced a shortage of capital. ”Thank God this business can roll out. The demand is also high, so that we dare to seek capital to financial partners,” she said.

A bamboo wall collector, Jro Ketut Sunadi, revealed the demand of bamboo wall was very high, especially in the construction of

5

villas in the countryside where they had switched to the use of bamboo wall. Though it was made from bamboo, the woven bamboo wall was said to be very strong and durable. Within a day, he was able to sell 50 pieces of bamboo wall sizing 3x4 meters. Further, he explained the price of bamboo wall remained stable, namely IDR 40,000 per square meter. ”Many people need the woven bamboo wall, especially for villa. The price is also affordable,” he said. (kmb45)

Melasti procession of Nyepi

Purify macrocosm and microcosm

By Nyepi celebration, most Hindu devotees in Bali organize Melis, Mekiyis or Melasti procession. It is performed by the majority of Hindus and not entirely because the tradition of Mekiyis or Melis itself is not implemented simultaneously. Everything is tailored to the local tradition flourishing in their respective region.

For example, Hindu devotees living in the southern region of Bali such as Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar execute the Melasti procession 3 days before Nyepi. From the morning until late afternoon, it can be ascertained that beaches in the three regions will be thronged by thousands of Hindu devotees who escort their respective venerated deities.

According to I Ketut Wiana, so far among the Hindus there was an understanding that interpreted the Melasti solely as bathing sanctified effigies or ritual paraphernalia. As a matter of fact, added Wiana, as a series of Nyepi festivity, Melasti had a very broad and profound meaning.

In the Aji Swamandala palmleaf manuscript is mentioned that Melasti ngarania ngiring prawatek Dewata anganyutaken laraning jagat, papa klesa, letuhing Bhu-

wana. This quotation means that the Melasti procession is meant to wash away the suffering of people (laraning jagat) as well as to get rid of suffering (papa klesa) and impurities of the universe (letuhing bhuwana). It is realized by carrying and escorting the sacred symbols to the sources of water such as sea, river or lake.

Meanwhile, the Sunarigama palm-leaf manuscript mentions that the purpose of Melasti is amet sarining amertha kamandalu ring telenging segara meaning to take the essence of life in the middle of ocean.

Melasti procession is conducted by a group of devotees who have clan or group temple. Sacred symbols such as pratima or sanctified effigies as manifestation of the venerated deities in the respective temple are gathered and settled in the pavilion of Bale Agung temple of customary village concerned.

At the specified time, Melasti is carried out in a parade or in Bali it is called mapeed where all sanctified symbols are carried to water sources such as sea, river or lake.

Peak of the Melasti procession is held at those springs. In essence, it means to pay devotion or bhakti to

God in his manifestation as the Lord Varuna. In the meantime, the end of such procession is marked by invoking holy water as a symbol of Amerta Kamandalu holy water obtained in the ocean. It is the essence of Melasti procession having more profound significance to direct people to always develop their desires based on sublime heart. Everything is inseparable from the presence of Kamandalu as holy water to meet the noble wishes.

Mapeed in Melasti procession itself has its own significance, namely spiritually cleanse the village environment. This purification is executed by presenting pratima and other sacred symbols.

The presence of pratima is believed to bring spiritual vibrations to the surrounding devotees. Related to this issue, probably there is an interesting phenomenon occurring within the

past few years on several customary villages where mapeed tradition in relation to Melasti is no longer held. To reach the beach as destination of Melasti, devotees escorting their venerated deities have used trucks. Various reasons are given behind this change in tradition. It ranges from the reason that beach destination of Melasti is far enough if covered on foot to the reason of traffic congestion caused by the mapeed procession.

One day after the Melasti is called Nyejer where a number of pratima representing the deities as manifestation of Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa or Supreme God abide in the Bale Agung, Village Temple or respective tem-

ple. The word Nyejer is derived from the jejer in Balinese language meaning ‘standstill and unshakable.’ In this Nyejer series, the devotees are actually taught to build a formidable sradha (belief) and bhakti (devotion) or strong belief in God. With a strong sense of divinity, human will be given the power to control their daily life that is often approached by various temptations.

If belief in God could have been upheld and well maintained, all temptations can be overcome well and properly. (kmb)

IBP/File Photo

By Nyepi celebration, most Hindu devotees in Bali organize Melis, Mekiyis or Melasti procession. It is performed by the majority of Hindus and not entirely because the tradition of Mekiyis or Melis itself is not implemented simultaneously.

4

Monday, March 16, 2015

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

ForBALI rallied reject Benoa Bay’s reclamation plan

DENPASAR - Ogoh-ogoh or papier mâché demons and various fish posters were a new force in the cultural parade held by ForBALI on Friday (Mar. 13), in rejection of the reclamation plan that claims to be a revitalization of Benoa Bay. The mass of ForBALI also wore life jackets and diving gear. This demonstration was the umpteenth of its kind, held by ForBALI (Forum of Balinese People Rejecting Reclamation) in Renon, Denpasar.

Coordinator of ForBALI, Wayan ‘Gendo’ Suardana, said that the new symbolic props used in this demonstration have specific meaning. When the Governor, the Central Government, the parliament, and capital investors planned the Benoa Bay reclamation project, they were actually planning ecological disaster including floods that the people of Bali would have to face.

“Our friends are wearing life jackets to indicate that recent flooding is

an indication that there is a problem.

Based on research conducted by the International Conservation, the reclamation project would cause flooding down the line. By wearing diving gear and life jackets, our friends are saying that we are prepared for the disasters that lie ahead if this project goes through” he said.

Gendo added that the current action was also a response to the public consultation regarding the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) held by PT

TWBI, on Wednesday (Mar. 11). The public consultation was considered illegal and it appeared that the investor had already orchestrated the public talks to include people with similar opinions, so he chose to walk out on the talks. ForBALI would therefore continue to express their refusal of the reclamation. Moreover, the Bali House as the people’s representative could no longer be expected to express the voice of the people.

“Actually, “the people” do not have

the House today, people do not have a representative today and people do not have a government today. These bodies are all intertwined with capital investors. People today are like orphans, so I want to reiterate that the people of Bali today are orphans, they do not have a father or mother. They are fighting by themselves. Yes, this is clear” he said.

A similar opinion was also expressed by hamlet chief of Batu Bintang, Dauh Puri Kelod village, Denpasar, Nyoman Mardika, during his speech given in front of the Office of the Parliamente of Bali. According to Mardika, Balinese people could no longer expect their representatives in the Bali House to speak because

IBP/ Eka Adyaksa

The ForBALI rallied to reject the reclamation plan

investors are art of the house. “We must frisk anything to fight against this group” he exclaimed.

Chairman of the People’s Empowerment Agency (LPM) of Tanjung Benoa, Kadek Duarsa, said that the people’s representatives in parliament should take a clear stance. So far, their silence or hazy standpoint could be used as justification by investors to go ahead unchecked. Currently, it would seem that only the President of Indonesia can be relied on to revoke the Presidential Regulation (No. 51/2014), that paves the way for reclamation.

“We have a lot of hope, but the president still has many other issues to deal with before he can make a decision on this matter. Investors are taking advantage of this opportunity.

Obviously we still expect the President to hear the aspirations of the coastal communities and the people of Bali in general who reject the reclamation project, and hope he will revoke Presidential Regulation No.51/2014” he explained.

A youth from Batubulan, Wayan Wiliana, said that the reclamation project would not only have an ecological impact but an economic one as well.

According to Wiliana, Bali is currently controlled by certain investors whereas the potential of Bali should be managed by the people of Bali themselves. What happens today is that Balinese people are forced to work for someone else in their own region.

Meanwhile, customary organizations such as sekaa, banjar or customary villages no longer manage the potential of the land and its people.

“I think that Bali should have the rights to managed itself, with public interest in mind. Let this land be vacant, with a small capital -we can utilize and control the economy of Bali ourselves. Do not cover this island with magnificent buildings that we cannot participate in. We must work to achieve this.” said Wiliana who works as a tour guide. (kmb32)

Dealer of fake banknotes arrested near Ubung

DENPASAR - Armed with information about a dealer of fake banknote said to be roaming in the area of Ubung, Directorate of Crime and Violence team of the Bali Police General Crime Investigation Unit, immediately conducted an investigation. On Wednesday (Mar. 11), police officers managed to arrest the trafficker of fake banknotes, Hari Purwanto, in front of a stall on Jalan Bung Tomo VI, Ubung, Denpasar.

According to a source at Bali Police Headquarters, Friday (Mar.13), the police initially received in-

formation from a member of the public, stating that an unidentified man often carried fake banknotes in denominations of IDR 100,000.

“We immediately investigated he matter, conducting reconnaissance in the field, over the course of a few days,” he said.

However, the trafficker of fake banknote never emerged. Police were suspicious that the surveillance mission had been leaked, but they persisted nonetheless. Finally on Wednesday, at approximately six ‘clock p.m., the suspect emerged

and approached a food stall. The suspect who was working as a driver sat down to allegedly meet with someone had made a meeting with. Worried that the suspect would flee, the police team, led by Pande Sugiarta immediately arrested the suspect.

After searching the suspects’ wallet and bag, the man from Lumajang, East Java was found to be carrying IDR 3,050,000 in cash. “After further examination, IDR 2 million worth of banknotes were proven to be counterfeit IDR 100,000 bills.

The remaining amount, in IDR 50,000 bills was revealed to be legitimate cash,” he said.

In his confession to the police officers, suspect Hari claimed that he got the counterfeit cash from a colleague named Aziz from Jati Roto, Lumajang, East Java and had come to Bali to deliberately distribute the fake cash. Apart from the fake banknotes, the officers also secured a Honda Vario motorcycle with license plate DK 7326 FA from the suspect. The suspect also claimed that he had been staying at a hotel

on Jalan Pidada, in Denpasar.

Spokesman for the Bali Police, Hery Wiyanto, confirmed these facts adding that after members of the Directorate of General Crime had caught the suspect, the case was transferred to the Directorate of the Special Crime Investigation Unit. “Because special crimes like distributing fake banknote, must be handled by Directorate of Special Crime Investigation Unit. The case is still being developed, including trying to track where the money was printed,” he said. (kmb36)

AP Photo/ Michael Duff

In this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, a boy listens to school classes broadcast over the radio, due to the Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone school’s across the country have been closed in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

10 US charity staff to leave Sierra Leone amid Ebola scare FREETOWN — Ten clinicians with a Boston-based nonprofit organization responding to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone are to be transported to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with the deadly disease.

Partners in Health said in a statement Saturday that the medical workers would be evacuated on non-commercial aircraft and isolated in Ebola treatment facilities.

On March 11, a Partners in Health clinician in Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola, and the 10 fellow workers “came to the aid of their ailing colleague,” the group’s statement said. They have not shown signs of Ebola, and Partners in Health said the evacuations were ordered “out of an abundance of caution.”

“They will remain in isolation near designated U.S. Ebola treatment facilities to ensure access to rapid testing and treatment in the unlikely instance that any become symptomatic,” the group’s statement said.

The clinician who became infected has already been evacuated

and is receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Partners in Health did not specify a timeline for the new evacuations, and a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was not authorized to comment Sunday morning.

Earlier on Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said several Americans who may have been exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone would be monitored.

The CDC did not state how many Americans are coming back, but University of Nebraska Medical Center officials said they will be monitoring four Americans.

The World Health Organization estimated last week that the ongoing Ebola outbreak has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The outbreak is the largest ever for the disease.

Deaths have slowed dramatically in recent months but the virus appears stubbornly entrenched in parts of Guinea and Sierra Leone. (ap)

13

Netanyahu legacy on the line in Israeli vote

JERUSALEM — As Israelis prepare to vote in parliament elections on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself at a fateful crossroads: Make history or become history. If Netanyahu can lead his Likud Party to victory and secure a fourth term in office, he will move closer to overtaking the nation’s iconic founding father, David Ben-Gurion, as the longest-ever serving premier — and cementing a status as the dominant Israeli politician of the past two decades.

But if Likud stumbles and finds itself in the opposition — a real possibility, according to recent polls — the Netanyahu era could end with a resounding thud, concluding a career that many would say brought few major accomplishments beyond longevity. Iran and the international community seem headed toward a nuclear deal that Netanyahu abhors, and a resolution to the Palestinian issue seems as distant as ever.

“If he leaves office, he won’t leave any dramatic changes,” said Yoaz Hendel, a former aide to Netanyahu. In a turbulent region, one could say “this is the best thing to do,” Hendel said.

The Israeli campaign is widely seen as a choice between two world views: Netanyahu’s focus on Israel’s many security challenges — he has long been a voice calling for zero tolerance of terrorism — or his opponents’ focus on Israel’s social problems and high cost of living.

It also touches on his support for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the opposition and the outside world detest.

But on a basic level, the campaign is simply a referendum on

Netanyahu, a polarizing character who is adored as “King Bibi” by his supporters and reviled by his detractors.

The son of a Jewish historian, and scarred by the loss of his brother in a 1976 Israeli commando raid on a hijacked airline in Uganda, Netanyahu often portrays himself — and his country — in historical terms. He laces his speeches with references to Jewish history, tales of Jewish heroism and warnings that Israel’s most sinister enemies lurk around every corner. The main target of his diatribes, Iran, is often compared to biblical enemies and even the Nazis.

“The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over,” Netanyahu said in a controversial speech to the U.S. Congress earlier this month. “We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves.” It was vintage Netanyahu, delivered in flawless, American-accented English — developed during a childhood in Philadelphia and later as a university student at MIT — and with the gifted oratorical flourish that has made him prominent on

the international stage.

His stern rhetorical style, often drawing comparisons to Churchill, has served him well during a threedecade career that has included time at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, as ambassador to the United Nations, a series of senior Cabinet posts and a stint as opposition leader. He has spent a total of nine years as prime minister since 1996, and if he can keep the post through mid2019, he will become the country’s longest serving premier. But after enjoying a surge of popularity following last summer’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu is struggling.

Despite the speech to Congress, his efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear program — which he describes as the mission of his lifetime — appear to be stumbling as the U.S. seems to move toward a deal with the Islamic Republic.

The speech, delivered over White House objections, has worsened an already troubled relationship with President Barack Obama, boding poorly for the final two years of Obama’s term if Netanyahu is reelected. (ap)

2,000 attend burial of German woman killed fighting in Syria

BERLIN — Some 2,000 people have attended a funeral march in western Germany for a woman who was killed while fighting with the Kurds against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Police said friends and Communist activists escorted the body of Ivana Hoffmann, 19, through the city Duisburg to a cemetery where she was buried. Hoffmann died a week ago while fighting with the

Peoples Protection Units, known as the YPG, near the Syrian village of Tel Tamr in Hassakeh province.

Hoffman was born in Germany to a German mother and a father from Togo. She was a member of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) in Turkey and joined YPG fighters about six months ago, the party said in a statement. The party said she died in clashes with IS militants. (ap)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.

14

Traveling

Monday, March 16, 2015

International

Trekking in Nepal offers adventure

GHOREPANI, Nepal — Dawn’s golden light caught the tops of the snowcapped Himalayas and gradually crept downward as the rising sun lit up a sweeping arc of soaring peaks, at once forbidding and starkly beautiful.

The stunning vista from the top of Poon Hill — at 3,193 meters (10,475 feet), the highest point of our family’s six-day trek in Nepal — was among many highlights of a “Lord of the Rings”-like adventure through lush forests, terraced fields and traditional villages nestled above plunging valleys.

Sometimes the going was tough — like hiking two hours up steep, stone steps. Other times, we walked along gently undulating woodland paths.

Along the way, there were rewards: children who ran to greet us (sometimes asking for money or candy), wildflowers beside the path, breathtaking views and cups of hot masala tea at cute little rest stops.

If you’re looking for a family adventure that immerses you in

nature, beauty and a fascinating culture — and you’re willing to rough it some — consider trekking in Nepal.

Children as young as 8 or 9 could handle the popular 65-kilometer (40-mile) Ghandruk-GhorepaniPoon Hill loop we hiked, located just south of the Annapurna Range.

Small children can be carried on the backs of porters.

We hiked four to six hours daily, depending on the trail’s difficulty, usually reaching our destination by 3 p.m., allowing time to relax before supper.

With good weather, this route will give you stunning views of a string of mountains, including Annapurna I (8,091 meters, 26,545 feet), 10th-tallest in the world; Machapuchre, or “Fishtail,” with

its distinctively shaped peak; and the towering Dhaulagiri (8,172 meters, 26,811 feet), the world’s seventh-tallest. Mount Everest, located 300 kilometers (190 miles) to east, isn’t visible on this loop.

The circuit starts and ends near the lakeside town of Pokhara, central Nepal’s trekking hub. We used 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking, which specializes in training and employing women, to hire our guide, Mana Kunwar, an experienced, flexible and fun Nepali woman who spoke good English.

Her knowledge of the trail, culture and language — and contacts at tea houses where she booked our rooms — enhanced our experience immensely.

Peak trekking season in October and November, when skies are

clearest and temperatures hover between 15-25 degrees Celsius (60s and 70s F). We mostly hiked in Tshirts and shorts (women’s shorts should be knee-length out of respect for the local culture). But early mornings and evenings, when it got as cold as 5 degrees C (40 F), we needed fleeces and long pants. We encountered no snow, but a week before our October visit, a freak blizzard and avalanche hit a pass at a much higher elevation about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the north, killing more than 40 people.

April and May, also a good time to go, can be cloudier, but the rhododendron trees are in bloom.

June, July and August are rainy.

Be prepared to rough it. Some teahouses offer hot showers but water supplies are often limited.

Rooms run $3-$5 a night, Spartan but clean. Blankets are available, but most trekkers bring sleeping bags, which can be rented or

bought in Pokhara or Kathmandu at shops that sell everything you need, including knock-off brand fleeces and backpacks. Trekking poles, about $5 apiece, are recommended, especially when descending. Don’t buy hiking shoes when you arrive; break those in at home.

The food is rather monotonous: Lots of dal bhat, or lentil stew with rice, plus curries, pastas and soups, and not much meat or fruit. Deepfried “gurung bread” is quite good.

You may want to bring canned tuna or meat.

As for that sun rise from Poon Hill: Woke at 5 a.m. and hiked 45 minutes from the village of Ghorepani to see it, and shared the experience with other trekkers. But like the rest of the trip, the effort was well worth it. Got a panoramic view of both the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges in all their majesty. (ap)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

3

Holiday makers continue flock in Bali

DENPASAR - Foreign holiday makers continued to flock to Bali despite boycotts call by Australia over the plan to execute two death row drug convicts from that country.

Significant increase was recorded in the number of arrivals of foreign visitors at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai airport and Bali’s seaports, tourism observer Tjok Gede Agung said.

“Bali remains a favorite destination for foreign tourists despite setback in political relations with Australia,” Tjok said.

Based on officials record of the Bali Tourism Office 637,217 foreign tourists flew directly from their respective countries to Bali in January-February, up 14.8 percent from the same period in 2014.

Relations between Indonesia and Australia suffered a setback over the plan to execute two Australians drug convicts on death row.

There has been threat to boycott visit

by Australians to Bali, but apparently the people of Australia has ignored the boycott call.

“Australians still led in number of foreign visitors to Bali,” Tjok said.

The number of Australians visiting Bali rose 16.76 percent on-year to 156,424 in the first two months of 2015 or 24.55 percent of the total number of foreign visitors to Bali. The second largest number was those from China reaching 145,749 in the January-February period of 2015. (ant)

IBP/Wawan

Foreign holiday makers continued to flock to Bali despite boycotts call by Australia over the plan to execute two death row drug convicts from that country.

Colorful holi spalsh AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, trekkers hike through a densely forested area near Ghorepani, Nepal. The six-day loop takes travelers through widely varied terrain, including terraced fields, lush forests and barren ridges.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, photo, Mt. Machapuchre, or “Fishtail,” pierces the sky at nearly 7,000 meters, or 23,000 feet, as viewed from the Nepali village of Tadapani. The soaring peak is one of many in the Annapurna Range that can be seen from the Ghorepani-Gandruk-Poon Hill trekking loop accessed best from the lakeside town of Pokhara.

DENPASAR - A big colorful Holi splash was held on 8th march 2015 at the Unud Football Lawn in Bali in honor of the Indian festival. In keeping with the tradition and keeping the spirit of Indian culture alive even in a foreign land- BIF I.e.

Balinese Indian Friendship Association sponsored and hosted this event. BIFA and which has been responsible for organizing

many such events in the past too that promote Indian culture and solidifies relations between people belonging to different communities was successful in sending is message across.

Stressing upon the real significance of celebrating Holi which dissolves the walls and barriers of castes, status, religion and communities by treating everyone the same, BIFA managed to

unite more than 200 people from Malaysia, Javanese, Balinese and Indian community under one roof. The event saw a big water pool, water guns, herbal colors everywhere with guests enjoying the food delicacies like dosas, jalebis, thandai, ladoos on offer, while the DJ kept the crowd grooving it on its feet on popular Holi songs. Be it kids, youngsters or elderly, everyone was seen

having a good time.

The main motive behind this free for all festival celebration

by BIFA was to treat everyone the same. Here, people weren’t factioned as per their castes or religion- it was people of the world united as one without any differentiation between them.

The event was preceded by a one day cricket match won by Sunur Cricket Club comprising of

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 photo, the sun rises above the Annapurna Range in central Nepal as viewed from Poon Hill, above the village of Ghorepani.

Poon Hill, the highest point of the six-day, 65-kilometer (40-mile) loop through the villages of Ghandruk and Ghorepan can be crowded with other trekkers at sunrise during peak trekking season

AP Photo/Malcolm Foster

In this Monday, Oct. 20, 2014, photo, a family of trekkers with a guide follow a path through terraced fields close to Dhampus, Nepal. Some travelers in the region hire guides to share their knowledge of the trail, language, local culture and wildlife.

IBP/Courtesy of BIFA

all Indian players which doubled the Holi celebrations.

2

International

Monday, March 16, 2015

Bali News

Perforated coin industry, mainstay of Kamasan

The confiscated liquors are displayed by the police

IBP/File

Leading up to Nyepi, police hold liquor raids

DENPASAR - In some regions the Nyepi celebrations are characterized by clashes and fighting between people, usually triggered by drunkenness. Leading up to the Saka New Year 1937 Nyepi celebrations, the Bali Police will be targeting liquor distributors in anticipation of such disturbances. “Liquor vendors’ throughout Bali will be discouraged from selling booze, so as not to tarnish Nyepi celebrations with undesirable incidents,” said Spokesman of Bali Police, Hery Wiyanto.

The Klungkung Police are the most diligent in taking action against liquor vendors. “Every day Klungkung Police report arrests of liquor vendors” he said.

Wiyanto expects police from other counties to take similar measures to suppress the distribution of liquor - especially arrack, before Nyepi. In addition, each county police station has mapped out areas prone to crime.

Based on the experience of previous

years, Hery ascertained that every county police station is familiar with places within their territory that need special security measures to be taken.

“The police of each county must engage in dynamic security measures in areas that are conducive or prone to criminal activities, giving these areas special attention backed up with Bali Police security forces” he said.

Moreover, there has been a restriction on the sale of liquor issued by the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Indonesia through the issuance of the Regulation of the Ministry of Commerce No. 06/MDAG/PER/1/2015. “Minimarkets and the like are prohibited from selling liquor. If there are stubborn, and continue to sell alcohol, they will be dealt with accordingly,” he said. (ken)

SEMARAPURA - Various kinds of SME enterprises are springing up in Kamasan village, Klungkung. Such developments have catapulted Kamasan into one of the major centers for art and cultural products. Products here range from classical painting in Kamasan style, to bullet casing crafts, to the industry of perforated coin familiarly known as pis bolong in Bali.

The perforated coin industry of Kamasan village has become a mainstay for local residents. Made Sugandi, who has been in the business since 2005, when met at his factory recently, explained that the perforated coin industry continues to grow rapidly. When he started, perforated coins were already in high demand because every ceremony in Bali requires large quantities of these coins.

The raw materials need to make these coins, namely; gold, silver, copper, iron and brass are intensively sought after by scavengers and junk collectors. These materials are then purified before being processed into perforated coins. Back in 2005, Sugandi was producing hundreds of coins per day, however because the demand for pis bolong continued to increase, he eventually hired more workers and is now able to produce thousands of coins a day.

So far, the demand for perforated coins remains high, which has made other Kamasan residents to open similar businesses. Sugandi himself admitted that he was overwhelmed with orders, despite having 15 employees working at his “Bali Antik Coin” workshop in Kamasan. His products have various designs such as the pancadatu of padma type and padma aksara, kuci or the so-called female coin, coins with puppet characters and many other types.

Among the different types of perforated coins, the type most sought-after by Balinese people is the pancadatu because it is needed for certain Hindu religious ceremonies. Sugandi confessed that although coin production is a good business opportunity, it was does have a negative impact.

He explained that the high demand for perforated coins has led to unfair competition with entrepreneurs trying to run each other out of business. Customers however are just looking for the best quality perforated coins in Kamasan. Competition amongst coin makers in Kamasan is nothing compared to the competition they face with the production of such coins in Java.

Perforated coins produced in Java sell for about IDR 300,000 per thousand pieces while those produced in Kamasan sell for IDR 450,000 per thousand pieces. “The price in Kamasan is already very low in terms of the cost of materials. The industry of perforated coin is not just a business, but also deals with holy sacrifice,” said Sugandi.

Komang Sugendra, another Kamasan coin craftsman, expressed a similar opinion about competition. This craftsman from “Taksu Agung Kamasan” said that market conditions were aggravated by the increase in the price of brass, due to its increasing scarcity.

Craftsmen are forced to cooperate with junk dealers. Brass is extracted from former water faucets, lights and pots which are melted down to get the brass used to make the coins. “Raw materials in Bali are of better quality than those from Java, so Javanese craftsmen can sell their products for cheaper and besiege the market in Bali,” he said.

The increased cost of brass has made craftsmen like him forced to increase the cost of their perforated coins. He worries that if prices continue to rise, no one will buy his product.

The price of perforated cons at Taksu Agung Kamasan is relatively cheap; one coin sells for IDR 70 despite using the same amount of raw materials. The five elements or metals: gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminum continue to be used so as not to reduce the taksu or divine vibration of the perforated coins. With ten workers, is able to produce 70 pancadatu coins per day. Of the five raw materials used, it is the price of brass that continues to soar, now costing as much as IDR 45,000 per kilogram, up from last year’s IDR 25,000 per kilogram. (gik)

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International

Activities

Monday, March 16, 2015

15

Nyepi at Aston Denpasar

DENPASAR - Nyepi is a Balinese “Day of Silence” that is commemorated every Icaka Warsa (Saka New Year) according to the Balinese calendar (in 2015, it falls on March 21). It is a Hindu celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia.

Balinese stay at their houses for fasting and meditation for 24 hours. The day following Nyepi is also celebrated as New Year’s Day.

Aston Denpasar Hotel & Convention Center offers a Nyepi Package from March 20 – 22, 2015 with the special price for 3 days and 2 nights in a studio room. This package includes taxes and service, daily buffet breakfast and 1x buffet lunch and dinner for 2 persons on Nyepi day. To complete your peaceful day with your family, Aston provide a wide variety of Box Office Movie available in their Television Channel for 24 hours. Also prepared 2 such as cooking class, making cupcake Movie Cinema for the family and sandwich as well as drawing and and others interesting activities coloring. Aston provide such diverse

IBP/Courtesy of Aston Denpasar

activities as a form of our loyalty to the guest who‘s not celebrating Nyepi, but still respect the culture itself.

Profile

Ida Bagus Putra

Evolving toward the success

The Bale Udang Restaurant Ubud managed by Avilla Hospitality celebrated its first anniversary vibrantly, Monday (Mar. 2). Taking the theme Grow Up to Glory the Bale UdangUbud continues to progress towards victory. Operations Manager, Ida Bagus Putra, said the Bale Udang Ubud was still quite young and in the process of evolving toward the success in accordance with the vision namely the Years of Glory. ”Coinciding with the age of one year, the Bale Udang Ubud is optimistic to continuously improve and develop toward the glory itself,” he said.

In the future, added Bagus Putra, the Bale Udang Ubud could reach the target and always give the best to all customers, both in terms of service and quality of food of course.Celebration of the anniversary was attended by the entire management, graced with Balinese dance performance, award confernment and peak of the event was marked with the cutting of rice cone. The event was continued with dinner, band performance and a surprising performance by Chef Wijana and staff (F & B Department) and the Kembang Girang Dance.

In addition, it was also filled with the presentation of employee of the year award 2014 for two selected staff. Besides, the event was also attended by the owner, board of directors and Avilla staff and representatives of the property units managed by the Avilla Hospitality. In the series of the anniversary activities, it was also carried out a visit to homes of poor family at Wangayu hamlet, Bedulu village and Samplangan Gianyar, cleanup in the area of Samuan Tiga Temple, fun games and saying prayers together in Padmasana. (kmb)

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, March 16, 2015

AP Photo/Disney

This image released by Disney shows Elsa the Snow Queen, voiced by Idina Menzel, in a scene from the animated feature “Frozen.” The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to make a sequel to the animated mega-hit “Frozen.” In the company’s annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco on Thursday, March 12, 2015, Disney executives officially announced plans for “Frozen 2.”

Elsa, Anna back as Disney’s ‘Frozen Fever’ short released

LOS ANGELES - Fans of hit movie “Frozen” who can’t let it go can reunite with Elsa, Anna and Olaf this weekend in a short film being released around the world.

The most successful animated film in history, “Frozen” has already raked in a cool $1.3 billion in earnings since its release in 2013, picking up two Oscars and a clutch of other awards along the way.

Disney this week confirmed that a sequel was in the works, delighting fans who flocked to the first film in droves and sending shares in the studio soaring.

Before then however comes the featurette “Frozen Fever,” offering fans the chance to reacquaint themselves with the film’s characters -- albeit for only seven, brief minutes.

The film is being released alongside Disney’s live action feature film “Cinderella,” which opens in North American theaters on Friday.

The short revolves around the problems that ensue when Elsa comes down with a heavy cold while a birthday party for her sister Anna is being prepared.

“It’s a fun way to relive the characters because we love these characters as much as the fans do, it’s a way to almost say thank you,” producer Peter del Vecho told AFP. “The whole idea of the short was we want to have fun with these characters, we want to have humor

for Elsa, something she didn’t get to have in the movie.

“In seven minutes you can bring a lot of joy. It’s sort of a celebration.”

The “Frozen” creative team began work on the featurette a year ago following the runaway success of the film, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.”

The short feature also sees the voices of Elsa and Anna -- Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell -- reunite on a new song “Making Today a Perfect Day,” with the daunting task of trying to match global hit “Let It Go.” (afp)

LOS ANGELES — Just like Tony “Iron Man” Stark, Robert Downey Jr. is a part-time superhero — at least in the eyes of one sevenyear-old boy.

In a video posted online Thursday, the actor, dressed as Stark, who becomes Iron Man in the movies, presents a working bionic prosthesis

to seven-year-old Alex, who was born with a partially developed right arm.

Downey opens a pair of metal cases marked Stark Industries, revealing an Iron Man arm and a smaller, redand-gold prosthetic arm for Alex.

The little boy, wearing a black shirt and red bow tie, sheepishly acknowl-

edges in the video that he’s having an exchange with Iron Man, whom he also identifies as “Robert.”

The bionic arm Alex received was created by engineering student Albert Manero, who builds and donates 3-Dprinted bionic limbs to kids around the world.

Manero has been working with

Kathy Griffin turns in her ‘Fashion Police’ badge LOS ANGELES — The “Fashion Police” force is dwindling, with Kathy Griffin following Kelly Osbourne out the door. Griffin announced her departure Thursday, after just seven episodes, in a posting on her Twitter account. The tweet was verified by her office.

Although she offered a politic comment about her style not meshing with the E! channel show’s “creative direction,” her lengthy tweet veered off into apparent criticism of how “Fashion Police” critiques celebrity looks.

“There is plenty to make fun of in pop culture without bringing people’s bodies into it. ... I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference,” she posted.

Griffin tweeted that her goal is to help “women, gay kids, people of color” and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a laugh.

Osbourne exited “Fashion Police” two weeks ago after complaining about co-host Giuliana Rancic’s red-carpet criticism of AfricanAmerican singer-actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks. Rancic said they suggested the smell of marijuana.

Zendaya went online to slam the remarks as “outrageously offensive.”

Rancic later apologized, saying the experience taught her not to perpetuate cliches and stereotypes.

Griffin came to “Fashion Police” as a replacement for her friend and mentor, the late Joan Rivers. In a statement, the channel said series executive producer and Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, will step in for the next episode.

That will air as scheduled March 30, the channel said, with Rivers joining remaining co-hosts Rancic and Brad Goreski.

There was no word on who will permanently replace Griffin, whom the channel thanked for her work, or Osbourne. (ap)

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Monday, March 16, 2015

Vanuatu struggles to account for cyclone damage, deaths Page 6

Messi-inspired Barca riding high before City, ‘Clasico’ Page 8

Netanyahu legacy on the line in Israeli vote

Page 13

Indonesia aerobatic planes crash in Malaysia, pilots safe

KUALA LUMPUR - Two planes from an Indonesian aerobatics team collided and crashed on Sunday during a practice session before an air show on Malaysia’s Langkawi island but all four pilots are safe.

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

‘Iron Man’ star Downey presents boy with bionic arm Alex’s family to perfect the digital arm, which Alex moves by flexing his biceps.

Each bionic limb Manero builds takes 50 to 70 hours of printing time and about 12 hours of assembly, he said.

His company, Limbitless Solutions, aims to eventually put 3-D

printers in embassies around the world so children who live in countries without advanced medicine can benefit from Manero’s designs.

The video was produced by the Collective Project, a social-media outreach program that gives students like Manero a greater presence online in hopes of inspiring others. (ap)

Pilots from Indonesia’s Jupiter aerobatics team are ejected after a mid-air collision during a practice session at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition in Langkawi, Malaysia, on Sunday, March 15, 2015.

The Korean-made KAI KT-1 Woongbi planes were part of a team from the Indonesian Air Force which will be taking part in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition this week.

“At around 2pm, two aircraft from our Jupiter aerobatics team were conducting a practice for the air show in Langkawi, Malaysia, when they collided and then crashed,” Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya told AFP in Jakarta.

“All four pilots on both planes were safe. They ejected when the aircraft started getting out of control.”

Malaysia’s Star newspaper said the pilots were rushed to a local hospital, and a fire services photo showed one on a stretcher.

A spokesman for the Langkawi Fire and Rescue Department, quoted

by Bernama news agency, said the two planes crashed while flying in a formation of six.

The crash also set a house on fire,

Bernama said, adding that firemen managed to douse the flames.

The single-engined turboprop Woongbi is a basic training aircraft.

One of the Indonesian Air Force’s planes crashed on a residential house in Gelam village, Kedawang, slightly injuring two residents.

The two victims were later rushed to the Langkawi hospital, Berita Harian online media reported.

The wreckage of the planes were found scattered over a wide forested area at the edge of the airport. One of the planes’ seat was found near a house and at least two houses caught fire due to the crash.

Eyewitness Markus Chong, said he saw two pilots ejecting before the planes crashed.

“Two in mid-air collision from Jupiter Aerobatic Team. Both pilots ejected. Hopefully no injuries on ground,” he posted on Facebook.

It is learnt that all practices and aerial displays were halted immediately as search and rescue helicopters were deployed to find the missing pilots.

A search and rescue mission headed by he Royal Malaysian Air Force responded within minutes and successfully rescued the pilots in Kedawang, about 11.3km away from the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre.

The Indonesian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force have formed a joint team to investigate the incident. (ant/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.

AP Photo/Ow Eng Tiong