Edition Friday, March 16, 2018 | Internasional Bali Post

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16 Pages Number 72 10th year

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Friday, March 16, 2018

Harper Lee estate sues Broadway’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ play ALABAMA - The estate of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee has sued the producer of an upcoming Broadway adaptation, arguing that writer Aaron Sorkin’s script deviates too much from the beloved novel about race relations in the Depression-era U.S. South.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Alabama asks a judge to resolve a contract dispute with producer Scott Rudin by giving the estate final say on whether Sorkin’s script departs from the spirit of the 1960 novel or alters its characters.

The estate’s representative, Tonja B. Carter, alleges that the script alters several characters, including protagonist Atticus Finch, who is portrayed as being initially naive to racism.

The script also “did not present a fair depiction of 1930s small-town Alabama” by tying it to today’s social climate, according to the suit.

Carter said Sorkin, an Oscar winner and the creator of Emmywinning TV series including the political drama “The West Wing,” added two characters to the script and told trade magazine Playbill that the book as written “doesn’t work at all” as a play.

The play is set to open in preview on Nov. 1 in New York and stars Jeff Daniels as Finch, a lawyer who defends a black man against a false rape charge in the racially charged 1930s South.

Representatives for Rudin and Sorkin did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The suit alleges Rudin ignored and resisted Carter, and that a February draft of the play “exacerbated her concerns,” according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

In response, an attorney for Rudin’s company, Rudinplay Inc, said in a letter to the estate that the company and not the estate had final say over the script, according to the lawsuit.

Rudin is a major Broadway and Hollywood producer, having won an Oscar and multiple Tony Awards, often earning honors for revivals of mid-century American theater.

Lee died in 2016 at age 89.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was met with high praise on its publication, winning the Pulitzer Prize and earning Gregory Peck an Academy Award for best actor in the acclaimed 1962 screen adaptation. (rtr)

REUTERS/Larry Downing/Files

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) before awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to American novelist Harper Lee (L) in the East Room of the White House, in this November 5, 2007, file photo.

Who will get the nod to design Meghan’s dress for UK royal wedding?

LONDON - For the fashion world, when American actress Meghan Markle joins the British royal family in less than two months’ time when she marries Prince Harry, there is only one issue that matters - who will design her wedding gown?

British newspapers have been rife with rumours that she has chosen the dress and already attended her first fitting, although royal officials are keeping such details a tightly guarded secret.

“We have not put out a statement, nor commented on the wedding dress,” a spokeswoman for Harry’s office said. The choice of wedding gown designer has prompted much speculation in newspapers and magazines ever since Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, and Markle, 36, announced their engagement last November.

“I think she’ll definitely wear a UK designer,” Bojana Sentaler, founder and creative director of Canadian label Sentaler, told Reuters. “I’m not sure which one but I think it’ll be a UK designer.”

One of those whose name has been suggested is Stella McCartney, who was behind British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney’s cream-coloured trouser suit for her civil marriage ceremony to U.S. actor George Clooney, as well as the coat Markle wore on a visit to Cardiff earlier this year.

“A wedding is a wedding, it’s a beautiful honour and privilege to do anyone’s wedding dress,” a smiling McCartney told Reuters when asked

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Cardboard facemasks of Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle are seen for sale at a kiosk in central London, March 14, 2018. if she would like to design Markle’s outfit.

“I’ve always loved working on wedding dresses and they’re always varied because you have to be really personal about it, you have to really look at the woman and the day,” said McCartney, who shares Markle’s ethical design and animal cruelty-free stance. British-Australian brand Ralph & Russo is another that has been mentioned a possible contender for the job after Markle chose a dress made by the duo for her official engagement portraits with Harry.

That dress, and the location of the wedding, Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle home to the west of London, might also serve as a good indication of what’s to be expected, said Anna McGregor, curator of the London

luxury wedding department store, The Wedding Gallery.

“Well, you always have to think about the venue because the dress has to be appropriate for the venue that you’re getting married in and of course she’s getting married in the chapel at Windsor. So you need to find something that’s going to work for that location,” she said.

“I think that the Ralph & Russo she wore for the engagement shoot was such a perfect look on her.”

For fashion brands, having apparel seen on a member of Britain’s royal family can lead to a spike in sales.

Prince William’s wife Kate has become a fashion icon since she married Harry’s elder brother in 2011, with huge interest in her choice of outfits for official engagements. (rtr)

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Bali’s New Year’s Day

IBP/file

Last year’s Nyepi celebration in Bali.

Time to stay in, turn off the lights, and keep quiet

DENPASAR - The largely Hindu Indonesian island celebrates Nyepi – Silent Day – by completely shutting down for 24 hours. In Ubud, where I’m staying, shops are closing early, ATMs aren’t working and streets are being closed. From 6am tomorrow (28 March) until 6am on Wednesday (the date changes annually following the lunar calendar), no one will leave their home. Religious rules state there should be no traffic, no fire, no work and no pleasure. Streets are eerily empty, shops and restaurants remain closed, the beaches are shut, use of electricity is kept to a minimum, there’s no transport – even the airport closes – and the pecalang community police go on patrol, ensuring compliance and reprimanding anyone who steps outside their premises.

“It’s a day for contemplation, to meditate, to fast, to go inside yourself and reflect on the past year,” says John Sugiharto, a sound healer and owner of Soma cafe in Ubud.

“People stay quietly with their families, it’s a very special day.”

Silent Day follows on from raucous New Year’s Eve celebrations, held to chase away malevolent forces. There’s a sense of

excitement in the air and in Ubud and the surrounding villages I’ve seen people crafting huge, ugly ogoh-ogoh papier mache effigies, with bulging eyes, fangs and hairy backs representing evil spirits.

Each neighbourhood works on their own grotesque creations, which are paraded through the streets, accompanied by traditional gamelan bands and drumming, and burnt

to much jubilation. “It symbolises burning your own demons as well chasing bad spirits away,” says Sugiharto.

New Year rituals start three days before Nyepi, with Melasti purification ceremonies on beaches.

Every village makes a pilgrimage to the coast, taking sacred temple objects for cleansing and blessings.

I joined thousands of villagers

dressed in white at Purnama beach about half an hour outside of Ubud as they gathered to make offerings.

Festivities continue for two days after Nyepi too, with visits to friends and family to ask for forgiveness and temple ceremonies.

If you’re visiting Bali at the time of Nyepi, hotel restaurants and other facilities are usually open, often with a more basic menu, but you won’t be able to leave your accommodation and no one can check-in.

If you’re in a private villa you’ll be expected to keep the noise down and lights off, even if you choose not to observe total silence. The Balinese have countless festivals and ceremonies year-round, but Nyepi is a particularly interesting

time to visit – a new year unlike any other.

No Internet Bali has asked phone companies to turn off mobile internet to celebrate New Year, which falls locally on Saturday.Mobile internet will be shut down to mark Nyepi, a Hindu holiday on the Indonesian island.

Continued to page 6 News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

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Bali News

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

482 flights to Bali will not operate during seclusion day

Wow, it is absolutely cool.

A bartender is not only good at blending delicious drinks, but also at juggling. He also dances with musical accompaniment.

Such an action becomes a spectacle drawing the interest of tourists at hotel. It is the ‘Best of The Best Bartender’ quest that will become a captain figure and dubbed as ‘Captain Mojito of the Year 2018 by Captain Morgan’ and this time was held at Graze Friday March 16 OGOH OGOH 15:00-16:30 Haha Yoga with Sandhi Kalifandi Jt Life Studio Jl. Sub Uma, Petula leah Ubud 19:00-23:00 Acoustic night feat Montana Plaza Renon Jl, Raya Puputan Reno, Denpsar A plane lands in Ngurah Rai INternational Airport.

IBP/file

Australia places order for ogoh-ogoh from Denpasar

The ogoh-ogoh seller is making the giat puppet.

IBP/wawan

DENPASAR - A craftsman of Ogoh-ogoh in Sesetan, Denpasar, admitted to have received extensive orders for making the effigies, including from Australia, before Seclusion Day, or Day of Silence, New Year Saka 1940. “The Hindu community in Australia has ordered Ogoh-ogoh for celebrating Seclusion Day. We designed the Ogohogoh that can be disassembled, so it can be easily sent to Australia,” Ogoh-ogoh handicraft entrepreneur of the “Gases Bali” studio Indra Wirawan stated here on Monday.

Wirawan noted that Indonesians from various regions, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Kalimantan, usually ordered Ogoh-ogoh via online shopping. “Some 20 workers

have been tasked with creating 175 Ogoh-ogoh in various shapes and sizes since the end of the previous year,” he noted. Due to the limited time and workforce, Wirawan declined to take some orders of Ogoh-ogoh.

“In the past, we always accepted orders without limit. However, now, we try to adjust the number of incoming orders with the ability of our workforce to maintain the quality of Ogoh-ogoh,” he remarked.

Ogoh-ogoh in the Gases studio is usually sold for some Rp500 thousand to Rp75 million per unit.

“The price depends on the material quality, size, and difficulty level of making Ogoh-ogoh. We sell at a price of Rp75 million, not

Friday, March 16, 2018

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Captain Mojito of the Year 2018 by Captain Morgan Held in Maya Sanur Resort and Spa

DENPASAR - PT Angkasa Pura I I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, has stated that 482 domestic and international flight schedules will not operate on Saturday (March 17) as the airport would remain closed for 24 hours in honor of the Seclusion Day. “The airport closure has already been known to all the airlines in the world, and we have been coordinating intensively with the airlines,” General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Yanus Suprayogi, noted here on Wednesday.

Flights will not operate for 24 hours starting from Saturday (March 17) at 06.00 a.m. local time to Sunday (March 18) at 06.00 a.m. local time.

According to Suprayogi, the flights include 244 domestic and 238 international flights, with the most flight routes to Cengkareng in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Perth, and Surabaya.

Angkasa Pura I, in cooperation with Airnav Indonesia of Denpasar Branch, had announced the airport closure to airlines and airports around the world through the Notice to Airman (Notam) number A-0117/18.

The temporary suspension of flight operations refers to the Letter of the Director General of Air Transportation number AU / 2696 / DAU / 223168/1796/99 dated September 1, 1999, on Ngurah Rai Airport Operation in Denpasar on Seclusion Day. “The airlines have adjusted their schedule during the airport closing period,” he remarked.

Although the airport would remain closed for 24 hours, it would still operate during an emergency.

Meanwhile, on Seclusion Day, airport managers will have 368 personnel on standby at the airport to anticipate emergencies, such as emergency landing or medical evacuations.

“We are also supported by Airnav, Immigration, Customs, Port Health, Ngurah Rai Air Force, Ngurah Rai Air Area Police, airline, and ground handling,” he added. (ant)

Activities

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including postage, for Australia,” he added. Meanwhile, Kadek Alit, an Ogoh-ogoh buyer, bought from Gases studio due to the limited time for making Ogoh-ogoh. “I just buy small Ogoh-ogoh for the children while the bigger one is still being created by the local people in Banjar,” he stated.

However, the sales of Ogohogoh in Badung, Bali, have decreased 10 days before Seclusion Day Catur Barata New Year Saka 1940. “The sales of Ogoh-ogoh have declined a bit as compared to the previous year. I believe God gives sustenance to everyone evenly,” Siluh Ayati, the shop owner of Ogoh-ogoh in Sempidi, added. (ant)

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

15:00-22:00 Friday gnamen open jam 9 Angels Jalan Suwetra 32 Ubud 19:00-22:00 Leggong at Ulekan Bali 34 jl, Tegal Sari Canggu Denpasar SATURDAY MARCH 17 NYEPI HOLY DAY of four abstinences: no lighting fire or using light no work no entertainment no leaving the house Sunday March 18 10:00-18:30 Traditional Indonesian Dance Tribe JT Life Studio Jln. Sub Uma Petula leah Ubud 17:00-18:00 Island and Beach Clean-up Scuba Centar Asia Mushroom Beach Lembongan

Restaurant, Maya Sanur Resort & Spa, not long ago.

Resort Manager of Maya Sanur Resort & Spa, I Putu Eddo Arthawan, said the activity is a special attraction for in-house guests.

On that account, the contest is also important to be organized in Sanur, a peaceful village tourist area. “This bartender event is not only worthy to be held in Nusa Dua or Kuta tourist area, but also in Sanur. By that way, Sanur is not

only known as a tourist destination for the elderly, but also for young tourists,” he said.

Eddo added that holding such event is very necessary to develop Sanur tourism. Maya Sanur has a principle that it does not only put forward the hotel, but also the destination. “Such an event also serves as a form of promotion for Sanur. Therefore, we do not only hold this competition, but also cultural events like

holding a painting exhibition.

Maya Sanur has an opportunity specially prepared for local artists to express themselves,” he added.

The gallery will showcase the works of Balinese artists alternately in every one and a half months. “We are grateful as the tourists visit has improved after the eruption of Mount Agung.

This February and March period has been better than the same

period in the previous year,” he concluded.

Maya Sanur Resort & Spa is a sophisticated beachfront retreat with 103 well-appointed roomsand supporting facilities. Maya Sanur Resort & Spa explores the synergy between Balinese authenticity and contemporary design where uncompromising quality and environmental integrity create multi-sensory experiences. (kmb)

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Friday, March 16, 2018

Culture

International

6,347 pieces of ogoh-ogoh paraded in Bali

Bali Police deploy 5,630 personnel IN order to secure Nyepi Day including the series of ceremonies, the Bali Police conducted security all out. For that purpose, police mobilize 5,630 personnel throughout Bali. Meanwhile, on the Pengerupukan, people will totally parade 6,347 pieces of ogohogoh on this Island of the Gods.

Technically, police prioritize preventive measures supported by

preemptive measures, intelligence and law enforcement.

Spokesperson of Bali Police, Hengky Widjaja, said on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that Bali Police will deploy 5,630 personnel to secure the ogoh-ogoh parade throughout Bali. The security is performed all out considering the celebration of Nyepi Day this year coincides with campaign of the simultaneous re-

gional leadership election to realize the safe and conducive situation.

“This security is assisted by approximately 22,000 customary security guards or pecalang throughout Bali along with other stakeholders,” said this former chief of Gianyar Police Criminal Investigation unit.

This graduate of 1993 batch Police Academy appealed to the

public that the ogoh-ogoh parade should not be colored with violence or crimes. He hoped that all Balinese people participate in maintaining security and orderliness in their respective hamlet with mutual respect among religious people.

The series of Nyepi festivities has been started on March 13, namely by melasti or purifica-

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International

tory ceremony. It ran until March 15, while on March 16, Balinese people perform Tawur Agung Kesanga and Pengerupukan ritual graced with the ogoh-ogoh parade.

On March 17, starting at six o’clock in the morning until the same time on March 18 is conducted the catur brata penyepian. After that, it is resumed with Ngembak Geni. (kmb36)

Banjar Kepisah, Sumerta Kelod village, East Denpasar.

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Ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor prepares extra trips

AMLAPURA — Crossing traffic at Padangbai Harbor started to show an increase. This happens because Bali will carry out catur brata penyepian (four abstinences) this weekend. To anticipate crowded crossing ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor has prepared extra trips.

By the harbor closing on the Nyepi Day celebration on Saturday (Mar. 17), the crossing traffic at Padangbai Harbor has looked crowded. Crossing traffic remains to be dominated by freight trucks. Only a few private vehicles and motorbikes are seen crossing.

An official of the Center for Land Transportation Management for Region XII Bali, A.A. Gede Kemara Sudarma, explained on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that to anticipate the delayed passengers at the harbor due to missing the last ship, the harbor authority will provide extra trips. “Provision of the extra trips is meant to anticipate the delayed vehicles or passengers at the harbor due to missing the last ship,” he said.

Padangbai Harbor is ascertained to be closed for a total of 24 hours. To prevent any passengers left at the harbor, the last ship from Padangbai will be departed on Saturday (Mar. 17) around 03:00. However, the schedule, according to him, remains tentative depending on the condition of passengers or crossing traffic.

“If in fact the crossing traffic is very crowded, aside from the extra trips mentioned earlier, there is possibility to depart the last ship at 03:30. It is still possible as carried out in previous years,” he said.

Related to such condition, he appealed to prospective passengers that will use Padangbai-Lembar crossing service to leave early. This is meant to avoid overcrowded traffic density and long queues. Meanwhile, on Ngembak Geni or when the catur brata penyepian ends on Sunday morning (Mar. 18), the first ship departing from Lembar Harbor (Lombok) will arrive at Padangbai Harbor at 09:00.

As seen at Padangbai Harbor, until Wednesday (Mar. 14), the spike of passengers can still be overcome with normal crossing schedule. Surge of passengers is estimated to occur on Thursday and Friday.

One of the cabin crews of Magasena passenger ship when met at pier I of Padangbai Harbor also conveyed that passenger density ahead of Nyepi usually occurs on day two and day one. (kmb31)

To anticipate crowded crossing ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor has prepared extra trips.

Seka Teruna (ST) Dharma Pertiwi, Pecatu village, South Kuta.

IBP/kmb31

Evacuee handling done Ogoh-ogoh in Banjar Kedaton Kesiman.

Mount Agung disaster relief team dismissed

IBP/eka

IBP/eka

Paksi Ireng banjar gemeh, West Denpasar

Friday, March 16, 2018

Siddhi Sakti lan Tantra made by ST Mascitta Bhuwana in Banjar Kayumas Kaja, Dangin Puri, East Denpasar.

Banjar Gaduh in Sesetan village.

I Wayan Karmawan

IBP/kmb40

BANGLI — The Mount Agung Disaster Relief Team formed several months ago in Bangli has been agreed to be disbanded. Dissolution is carried out following the completion of evacuee handling in Bangli.

Head of the Bangli Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), I Wayan Karmawan, said on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that currently the Mt. Agung Disaster Relief Team has been revoked.

Furthermore, it just needs to wait for the completion of reporting on the use of logistics and funds for reporting to the regent. One of the considerations for the agreement to the dissolution of the team is the

homecoming of all the Karangasem residents that had fled to Bangli.

Karmawan said although the evacuees have gone home, the logistics aid received by the team from donors for all this time remain quite a lot. Unfortunately, he cannot detail the remaining logistics mentioned above.

He added the logistics approaching its expiry dates such as instant noodles, snacks, soy sauce and others will be sent to Karangasem.

Likewise, the perishable logistics like rice will be submitted to Karangasem as well. “According to the agreement, the team will be coordinating it to Karangasem Social Office so as it can be submitted for

refugees in Karangasem,” he said.

Meanwhile, the remaining logistics whose expiry date remaining to last long will be stored in anticipating the arrival of evacuees back to Bangli.

Karmawan expressed his gratitude to all parties such as donors, civil servants, Indonesian Military (TNI), national police, Indonesia Red Cross and other volunteers who have been helping the handling of evacuees in Bangli.

Due to the assistance so far, the handling of thousands of evacuees in Bangli could run smoothly and there were no evacuees in Bangli suffering from logistical shortages. (kmb40)

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Bali News

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Melasti procession on Watu Klotok Beach

Like a lamplight thronged by flying termites

MELASTI procession ahead of Nyepi Day has been implemented by a number of villages in Klungkung district. Watu Klotok Beach at Tojan village is one of the melasti destinations. Booming number of pilgrims is exploited by a number of residents to reap fortunes by selling food such as satay. Due to best selling, they are able to bring in profits up to hundreds of thousands in one sale.

The atmosphere of Watu Klotok Beach before the festival celebrated every year looked different. It is no longer empty but becomes the target of thousands of pilgrims coming from a number of villages. They should walk for miles to melasti.

Their legs stepped on shiny and black sand in the morning sun while lining up neatly and snaking off the highway. Some people bring the offerings, banners as well as a number of sanctified effigies including rangda and barong. They came down to the beach while breaking trough shallow waves. When pilgrims of various ages entered the temple, they experienced sacred atmosphere in harmony with the strains of dharma gita psalmody and gamelan music. Peaceful impression also appeared strong enough.

Amid such atmosphere, in the outermost temple courtyard was seen a middle-aged woman wearing twisted clothes on the head and taking charcoal in plastic bag. She put it into the roasting place of very small size. Then, it was lighted and then fanned to exude smoke. The embers appeared and then she took the satay hurriedly. After that, she

grilled it. Many people passing by also eyed on the satay. Some got interested to purchase along with ketupat (rice bag) whose skin was made from young coconut leaf.

She looked happy as being visible from her face welcoming the arrival of the fortune. That is the activity of Timbrah resident, Karangasem Sub-district, Ni Nyoman Kari. “I regularly peddle here every year,” she said on Wednesday (Mar. 14).

Such profession has been pursued since two years ago. Previously, she only relied on her livelihood as laborer. Her selling to Watu Klotok Beach starts at 06:30 local time and departs from home around 05:00.

She does not need to bring along so many tools. Her satay sold is different from the usual ones, the number was double. Surely, it happened because the arrival of residents is booming. “We make 30 kg of satay.

It is for skewing and twisted satay.

However, on normal days, we just make at least a half of it,” she said.

She sells satay until the beach is getting deserted. It is repeated again on the following day. When talking about profit, it’s quite promising. At least she can earn

IBP/sos

Booming number of pilgrims is exploited by a number of residents to reap fortunes by selling food such as satay.

IDR 500,000 however it highly depends on the situation. “When visitors are crowded, my earning can reach such a range of amount.

It’s better than keeping silent at home,” she said.

Not far from her place, under the hibiscus tree was seen another merchant namely I Wayan Wikan.

He is also from Timbrah. Her satay looked to be very much demanded and quite a lot of buyers were still waiting. Moreover, they had to wait and seize to get a seat. He was

busy serving. His tired sweat could be seen from his face beginning to wrinkle. “I have been familiar to selling here. Other than on melasti, I also do on Shivaratri,” he said.

The fortune earned is indeed uncertain. However, melasti has been considered to have become the source of his fortune. A portion of satay with ketupat is sold for IDR 10,000. It could even be more, depending on demand. “On crowded days like today, I will make more,” he said while busy

serving buyers.

What he does is not something new. It has become his daily bread and butter. The ceremony being identical with crowd visitors will be dropped in, not only in Klungkung, but also in Karangasem area. His measures are just like flying termite looking for lamplight. It is also pursued by many people selling different products. “Where there are temple festivals or rituals, we’ll be there for selling. There is always information about it,” he concluded. (sos)

Pandanus-weaving craftswomen taught keys to success

IBP/kmb

Pandanus leaf-weaving group at Tumbu village consists of 40 people, mostly housewives.

AMLAPURA - Pandanus-weaving craftswoman group at Tumbu village, Karangasem sub-district, gets additional knowledge especially for being a successful crafter.

Unmitigatedly, the trick to success was given by candidate of Bali governor, Wayan Koster, in a series of his interactive campaign in Karangasem on Wednesday (Mar. 14).

Pandanus leaf-weaving group at Tumbu village consists of 40 people, mostly housewives. The main product is pandanus mat. Besides, they also produce various modern crafts made from basic materials of dried pandanus leaves such as bags and hats. In terms of production, they are quite productive, but in terms of income they are still in the shadow of the collectors.

One of the craftswomen, Agung Sudanti, 50, said the group only does the production process, while the sales are assisted by collectors from outside the village. Pandanus mats are supplied to traditional markets throughout Bali, while the artistic crafts such as bags and hats are taken to Bona, Gianyar. At Bona, the handicraft products are processed again so that the price becomes multiplied. “Our bag is sold for IDR 25,000 each, but after finishing process at Bona it can be sold for IDR 500,000,” she said.

Agung Sudanti admitted that her group is currently constrained by finishing technology, while for others such as design has got assistance from local government. Due to technological constraints, the

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

profits obtained are still relatively small. “On average, we can get IDR 5,000 per product,” she said.

Koster stated the constraint has a way out. One thing that should be done by craftswomen is to form a group with legal entity and the most ideal is a cooperative. After having legal entities, it can get funding assistance from the government of Bali province. In addition, with the presence of cooperative, the needs of finishing technology can be realized.

“Marketing can be directly handled by the cooperative by contracting kiosks in tourist attractions.

Alternatively, the cooperative can directly help distribute the handicraft products to shops in tourist area,” he suggested. (kmb)

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Foes band together to challenge Modi in 2019 India elections

NEW DELHI - Small Indian parties are banding together against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for next year’s general election, energised by an unlikely win in an election for a handful of parliamentary seats in the Hindi heartland on Wednesday.

Opposition strategists say the only way Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) juggernaut can be stopped is to join forces and turn 2019 into a “Modi versus the rest” election.

That strategy seemed to have paid off when two bickering caste-based factions worked together in the country’s most politically important state, Uttar Pradesh in the north, to defeat Modi’s party in two seats this week.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief of an opposition party in eastern India, called the Uttar Pradesh results, and victory for a regional party in another seat in neighbouring Bihar state, the “beginning of the end” for Modi’s party.

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty’s Congress party, which ruled India for most of the seven decades after independence before being thumped by Modi in the last general election 2014, also seized on the latest setbacks for the BJP. “The results from the by-polls make it clear that voters are very angry at the BJP and that they will vote for that non-BJP candidate who has the best chance of winning,” said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Congress has started stitching together alliances and hosted a dinner for opposition parties this week. Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said it was ready to lead any alliance of regional groups and could discuss such plans in a party conference this weekend.

BJP leaders said they were caught off-guard by the alliance of the two regional parties, known as the BSP and SP in Uttar Pradesh.

“We will prepare for a situation in future when BSP, SP and Congress can come together, and also make our strategy for winning 2019 the election,” said the BJP’s deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya.

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File photo

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, India, January 29, 2018.

‘SELLING DREAMS’ There is nobody close to Modi in personal approval ratings.

Nearly nine out of 10 Indians hold a favourable opinion of him, according to a research report published in November, and opposition victories in a handful of seats cannot be seen as an indication the mood is swinging away from Modi and the BJP nationally, analysts warn. nL3N1NM1UX] When Modi won office in 2014 with the most resounding victory in three decades, his party or its partners ruled only seven of India’s

29 states.

Today, it is in power in 21 of them and has replaced Congress as the party with strongest nationwide presence.

But in by-elections in 10 parliamentary seats since last year, the BJP has lost all of them. That may be an indication an anti-incumbency factor will play a part in 2019.

Ghanshyam Tiwari, spokesman for the Samajwadi Party (SP)whose two candidates won this week’s Uttar Pradesh by-elections, said the BJP had been winning new states by “selling dreams” to voters through glitzy advertisements.

But people in states where the party had

been ruling for some time were becoming disillusioned, he said.

“Because of their poor governance model, people are forced to live in bad conditions.

So it’s reality versus what you are promised,” Tiwari said.

Although Modi has been able to maintain his popularity, the BJP’s ties with allies have been strained in recent months, and any more setbacks would likely raise new doubts.

“Modi’s appeal is formidable but his enemies and allies would now think he’s beatable,” veteran journalist and political commentator Shekhar Gupta said on Twitter. (rtr)

Nobel prize winner hospitalized, wife found deceased in Illinois

ILLINOIS - A Japanese Nobelwinning chemist was discovered wandering in rural Northern Illinois and his wife found dead nearby, some nine hours after they had been reported missing from their home 200 miles away, police said on Wednesday.

Nobel Prize winner Ei-ichi Negishi, 82, was transported to a local

Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via REUTERS/File Photo

hospital for treatment after he was spotted walking near Rockford, Illinois, at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department officials said in a written statement.

Deputies later found the couple’s car and the body of his wife, Sumire Negishi, at the nearby Ochard Hills Landfill, the sheriff’s department said. Rockford is about 100 miles

Ei-ichi Negishi of Japan (R) and his wife Sumire Negishi (2nd R) are surrounded by his family members as he displays his diploma and medal after winning the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry during the award ceremony at the Concert Hall in Stockholm December 10, 2010.

west of Chicago.

An autopy was pending on the body of Sumire Negishi but foul play was not suspected in her death, the sheriff’s department said. No information was released on the condition of Ei-Ichi Negishi.

The couple was reported missing to the Indiana State Police at about 8 p.m. central time on Monday.

They were last seen at their home in West Lafayette, near the Purdue University campus where Ei-Ichi is a professor of chemistry.

The scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2010. (rtr)

12

International

Friday, March 16, 2018

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

Pingit Waterfall

Bahrain counts on fintech, Saudi ties to revive indebted economy

MANAMA - In smart new offices with Gulf views, a dozen firms work on digital currencies, blockchainbased payments and other financial technology. Bahrain FinTech Bay, inaugurated last month, is part of the kingdom of 1.4 million’s drive to revive its reputation as the Middle East’s top banking and business centre.

Shi’ite protests against Sunni Muslim rulers in 2011 hurt Bahrain’s image. Some investors turned instead to nearby rival Dubai. Saudi Arabia, a friend and sponsor, sent soldiers to help quash the unrest in Bahrain and growth and foreign investment slowed. Then the plunge of oil prices from 2014 dramatically reduced state revenues, its credit ratings fell and debt soared.

Large debts still pose a risk as interest rates rise, but after a push to turn the economy around, Bahrain is starting to see initial signs of recovery. PayTabs, a Saudi company specialising in online payment solutions, will set up a base in Bahrain FinTech Bay in May. “Bahrain’s central location in the Middle East makes it a critical online payments hub,” PayTabs chief digital officer, Philippe Berard, said in a statement earlier this month.

“Internet penetration in the kingdom is over 90% – one of the highest in the world and it is only natural that e-commerce thrives against this backdrop.” Tap Payments, a mobile payment company founded in Kuwait, moved to Fintech Bay last month. Chief executive Ali Abulhasan said Bahrain had regulatory advantages when compared to other Gulf Cooperation Countries.

Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing subsidiary of e-commerce giant Amazon, decided last year to establish operations in Bahrain. Foreign investment from a record 71 companies was $733 million last year, up from $281 million and 40 companies in 2016, according to the government’s Economic Development Board. This contributed to average annual growth in real gross domestic product of more than 3.5 percent in the first three quarters of last year after rates below 3 percent in 2015 and 2016. Central bank governor Rasheed Mohammed al-Maraj said last month that growth could accelerate further as strong oil prices have bounced to around $65 a barrel from below $50 in mid-2017.

Importantly for Bahrain’s role as a financial centre, assets in its banking system appear to have stabilised. Total banking assets edged up 1.4 percent from the end of 2016 to $188.7 billion last November, latest data shows, though they remained well below pre-2011 levels above $200 billion.

STRATEGY Part of Bahrain’s revival is based on good

Ngerebeg, Offering to Share Fruits with Monkeys at Alas Kedaton

REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Bahrain FinTech Bay staff is seen in the reception area of its office in Bahrain Bay, Manama, Bahrain, February 28, 2018. Picture taken February 28, 2018. fortune: the oil price rebound. Fitch Ratings said this accounted for half of the narrowing of the government’s deficit last year. The fiscal gap shrank to 13.2 percent of GDP still very high - from 17.8 percent in 2016, International Monetary Fund estimates show.

But Bahrain has also reshaped its regulatory environment to attract investment more quickly and aggressively than most other Gulf states.

Sometimes that involves deregulation, such as a “regulatory sandbox” in which fintech firms can experiment without heavy supervision and licensing. In other areas, Bahrain is tightening regulation; this month it launched an agency to govern its real estate industry in order to crack down on abuses and draw more foreign money.

The government is also spending $32 billion on an infrastructure plan that includes airport expansion, the development by statecontrolled Aluminium Bahrain of one the world’s largest smelter complexes, and a $5 billion refinery upgrade by state-run Bahrain Petroleum Co. While this may add to pressure on state finances it should improve Bahrain’s

Friday, March 16, 2018

external position by boosting exports.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is marketing itself as a platform for companies seeking to profit from economic reforms in Saudi Arabia that make it more expensive to operate there as the authorities encourage employment of Saudi citizens.

RATES RISING Still, Bahrain is not without its problems.

Political violence continues sporadically and last month, authorities said they arrested four members of a cell behind a bomb attack on an oil pipeline. The other big economic threat is the cost of government debt.

All three major international rating agencies now assess Bahraini debt below investment grade, while the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product soared to 81 percent in 2017 from 34 percent in 2012, S&P estimates.

With global interest rates expected to climb in the next 12 to 18 months, Bahrain’s debt position may worsen further, “with interest payments likely to rise to as much as 15-20 percent of total government spending,”

London-based Capital Economics said. The current ratio is about 11.5 percent. Partly because of domestic opposition to austerity, authorities have not released a comprehensive plan to get state finances under control.

In January, the government said it would not proceed with new austerity steps until parliament agreed on how to compensate citizens for a higher cost of living.

But Bahrain may be able to postpone solving the problem. Investors believe Bahrain is able to count on financial support from Saudi Arabia in a crisis. “The expectation of such support has supported Bahrain’s market access and US dollar peg despite extremely low foreign exchange reserves,” Fitch Ratings said this month.

This perception allows Manama to keep borrowing successfully in international markets despite its junk rating. In addition, official sources and bankers in the region say Bahrain has since last year been discussing the possibility of obtaining additional aid from neighbouring countries such as Kuwait, although a final agreement has not been reached. (rtr)

Gamelan composition of bleganjur sounded so melodious. The traditional artists of this village played gamelan instrument accompanying the rows of housewives dressed in customary attires while upholding gebogan fruit arrangement and smiling sincerely. A flock of monkeys, the local forest dwellers, were jokingly and jubilantly hopping over lush branches. They seemed to know that the gebogan procession was a happy day filled with joy of sharing fruits.

It is the description of ritual procession for monkeys at Alas Kedaton tourist attraction, Kukuh, Marga, Tabanan, on Saniscara Kliwon Uye took place lively, Saturday (Jan. 20). It has become a tradition that every thanksgiving ritual of monkeys was filled with procession of ngrebeg gebogan (parade of fruit arrangement) as high as 2 meters. “We always carry out the procession every day Tumpek Kandang or Tumpek Uye,” said Secretary of Kukuh customary village, I Gusti Ngurah Pujayasa. ngerebeg di alas kedaton Pujayasa said that thanksgiving ritual at Alas Kedaton also becomes a moment to teach children to love animals. It happened because many residents came to witness the parade of fruit arrangement while taking their children, then gave food to the flock of monkeys. “The celebration of Tumpek Kandang is one of the applications of the Tri Hita Karana teachings in the matter of Palemahan or environmental aspect that maintains harmonious

relationship with animals.

Coordinator of Alas Kedaton attraction, Kukuh customary village with the management board of Alas Kedaton and merchant group regularly holds thanksgiving ritual for the monkeys. However, since one and a half year ago a new tradition of ngrebeg gebogan of two-meter high was held. “Tumpek Uye today is the third time for implementing gebogan parade. This serves as a form of our gratitude for the welfare graced by God. Expression of our gratitude to monkeys and fruit bats of Alas Kedaton through a parade can attract tourists,” said Pujayasa.

In this ceremony, the merchant group of Alas Kedaton also contributed 22 pieces of gebogan of small size. Both fruit gebogan offerings of the management board and merchant group of Alas Kedaton contain local fruits such as red guava, tomatoes, corn, carrots, bananas, rambutan, papaya, mango and beans.

Before the parade, it was commenced with thanksgiving ritual

in the middle courtyard of Alas Kedaton Temple. After that, it was resumed with praying together, and presented fruit gebogan before God Almighty. After the prayers, it was continued with parading the gebogan in the middle courtyard of Kahyangan Kedaton Temple and in the outermost courtyard.

Ultimately, the gebogan was placed in the outermost courtyard.

A flock of monkeys then approached and picked up the fruits presented by the people of Kukuh.

People coming with their children took the fruit and distributed it to the flock of monkeys. The fruits were directly invaded by monkeys.

They looked tame. After getting the fruits, the monkeys jumped into the tree, while another flock came forward to pick up the fruits.

The beautiful moments when people were besieged by monkeys became the target of camera of photographers, including tourists.

They were happy to capture the moment of tame monkeys at Alas Kedaton. (kmb)

THERE are many waterfall attractions in Bali. Some of them can be found in Bangli. There are Kuning waterfall at Tamanbali village, Pengibul waterfall and Tibumana waterfall at Apuan village, Susut and Kubusalya waterfall at Sukawana village, Kintamani.

Another one is no less beautiful, namely the Pingit waterfall located at Payuk hamlet, Peninjoan, Tembuku. Wow… simply come and enjoy the beauty and freshness of the air and water.

To get to the waterfall, visitors will take about 30 minutes from the town of Bangli. From the hamlet hall of Payuk, it is only two kilometers. Before reaching the location, the eyes will be spoiled by the pristine and natural beauty.

Cool atmosphere coupled with green trees will endlessly pamper the eyes.

Arriving at the waterfall, serene atmosphere is very pronounced. A thin stream of the water as high as nine meters wrapped in sunlight are fused with black rocks. At first glance, the splashing and rumbling water sounds rhythmically. It is capable of soothing our mind.

Having been traced, in fact the waterfall has a Pingit cave. Two caretakers of local customary youth club, I Gede Rikayana and Komang Payu Antayana, explained at the location that when coming into the cave, there are two caves inside.

The first cave spreads across the area of around 2 x 3 meters and the second one about 3 x 4 meters.

Besides, there are rocks like a place to mediate. Not only that, drops of water also fall directly on the rocks from cave ceiling. On that account, the water is called tirta pingit, believed to be a medicine.

In Balinese, Tirta means holy water.

“When coming into the cave, visitors will be welcomed by a swarm of bats,” he said.

5

Other than Tirta Pingit, chief of Payuk customary village, I Nyoman Mudita, explained that around the waterfall there are also Tirta Campuhan and Tirta Anakan Payuk.

Tirta Campuhan is commonly used to do malukat (purificatory rite) for newly pregnant women in order to get smooth childbirth.

Then, the Tirta Anakan Payuk is the forerunner of Payuk village. He told that there was a yogi meditating on a hill. At that time, there was a pot-size spring emerging in the middle of paddy field, so that it was called Tirta Anakan Payuk used to perform melasti by local customary village and neighboring villages. In addition, there are also eleven springs located not far from the waterfall. So far, only eight springs have been identified, such as the Tirta Dedari, Tirta Tingkih, Tirta Melanting, Tirta Anakan, Tirta Bulung, Tirta Ponggang, Tirta Celuk and Tirta Ngening. “Many springs are also found around the waterfall. They are all believed to have benefits,” he said.

The beauty of the waterfall can attract travelers to make a visit, especially on particular days like full moon, new moon and Banyupinaruh. For the time being, the management is entrusted to customary youth club. “The tourist arrival is quite a lot. They come from Bangli and outside the region,” said Mudita.

Amid an increasingly crowded visit, the waterfall has not been equipped with supporting facilities, such as locker room and restrooms.

Likewise, the pathway to location is still modest. Hopefully, this potential can get the attention from local government. Other than offering natural attractions, it can also be taken advantage for spiritual tourism. “If developed, this will be able to draw more visitors in the future,” said Mudita. (kmb)

6

Friday, March 16, 2018

W

RLD French President Emmanuel Macron (R) escorts Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May after they spoke to the press at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 13, 2017.

REUTERS/ Philippe Wojazer/ File Photo

Russia to expel UK diplomats as row over spy attack escalates

MOSCOW - Russia will soon expel British diplomats in retaliation for Britain’s decision to kick out 23 Russian envoys over a chemical attack on a former Russian double agent, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

In London, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ratcheted up the rhetoric against Russia, accusing it of glorying in the attack on Sergei Skripal, which he described as a way of scaring anyone who stood up to President Vladimir Putin.

Britain says Russia is responsible for the poisoning with a Soviet-era ‘Novichok’ nerve agent of Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33. They were found unconscious on March 4 in the city of Salisbury in southern England and remain critically ill in hospital.

Moscow denies any involvement. The Kremlin said the British position was irresponsible and not backed up by evidence. It said Britain would not have to wait long for Russia’s response.

Lavrov was quoted by the official news agency RIA as saying the accusations were unacceptable and that British diplomats would be expelled.

But in a series of British media interviews early on Thursday, Johnson said the evidence of Russian guilt was “overwhelming” because only Moscow had access to the poison used and a motive for harming Sergei Skripal.

“There is something in the kind of smug, sarcastic response that we’re heard from the Russians that to me betokens their fundamental guilt,” he told the BBC. “They want to simultaneously deny it and yet at the same time to glory in it.”

Johnson said the attack was a way for Putin to send a message to anyone considering taking a stand against it that ‘You do that, you are going to die’.

TARGETING RUSSIAN MONEY

A former agent of the GRU, Russia’s military intel-

Bali’s New Year’s Day...

From page 1

The island’s airport will also shut for 24 hours from 06:00 on Saturday (22:00 GMT Friday).

ligence agency, Skripal betrayed dozens of Russian agents to Britain before being arrested in Moscow and jailed in 2006. He was freed as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 and took refuge in Britain.

At home, the British government has been under pressure from lawmakers and media to show it is getting tough on Russia, with some experts saying that despite the rhetoric the response did not go far enough to bother Putin.

Johnson defended the measures announced on Wednesday and suggested that there could be further consequences for wealthy Russians with assets in Britain.

“We will go after the money and actually we are going after the money,” he said, adding that the National Crime Agency and Economic Crimes Unit were investigating a wide range of individuals. He declined to give details, citing legal reasons.

“What people want to see is some of the very rich people ... whose wealth can be attributed to their relationship with Vladimir Putin, it may be that the law agencies, that the police will be able to put unexplained wealth orders on them, to bring them to justice for their acts of gross corruption,” he said.

Johnson also said he had been heartened by strong expressions of support from the United States and other allies -- although it remains unclear whether there will be a coordinated international response to the Novichok attack.

France, which on Wednesday had said it wanted proof of Russian involvement before deciding whether to take action against Russia, appeared to change its position on Thursday, saying it agreed with the assessment of its NATO ally Britain.

“France agrees with the United Kingdom that there is no other plausible explanation (than Russian involvement) and reiterates its solidarity with its ally,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. (rtr)

“Many Hindu people are addicted to gadgets,” Hinduism Society head Gusti Ngurah Sudiana said.

“I hope during Nyepi they can be introspective.”

Nyoman Sujaya, the Bali office chief of Indonesia’s communica-

tions ministry, announced the plan on Tuesday but said other internet access would operate as usual.”Wifi at hotels, public services and vital objects such as airports, hospitals, security forces and banking still can run normally,” he said. (ant)

International

International

Friday, March 16, 2018

Weakened Merkel begins 4th term beset by challenges BERLIN - German lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Angela Merkel as chancellor for a fourth, and likely final, term that may prove her most challenging yet as she takes charge of a fragile coalition with her personal standing diminished.

Lawmakers voted by 364 to 315, with nine abstentions, in favour of re-electing Merkel, a humbling start as the coalition of her conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has 399 votes in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

“I accept the vote,” a beaming Merkel, 63, told lawmakers before being sworn in by Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble.

She later told broadcaster the ruling parties would focus on taking support away from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt them in last September’s national election.

“That is our aim - that we make them (AfD) smaller and get them out of the Bundestag again insofar as is possible,” she said. “We want a coalition that appeals to all people in the country.”

In office since 2005, Merkel has dominated Germany’s political landscape and steered the European Union through economic crisis.

But her authority was dented by her decision in 2015 to commit Germany to an open-door policy on refugees, resulting in an influx of more than one million people that laid bare deep divisions within the EU over migration and fuelled the AfD. While also being locked in a trade stand-off with the United States, Merkel must now juggle competing domestic demands from within her coalition.

Her conservative CDU/CSU alliance only turned to the SPD to prolong the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed Germany since 2013 out of desperation, after talks on a three-way alliance with two smaller parties collapsed in November.

“It will not be an easy coalition, we have some difficult tasks ahead,” said Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the conservative bloc.

Ministers, younger and more diverse than the last cabinet, take up their posts almost six months after last September’s national election.

“I have the feeling that nothing good is going to be done for the country in this legislature period,” said Alice Weidel, the AfD’s leader in parliament. “It will probably be Angela Merkel’s last term and at some point it will be enough.” (rtr)

I have not signed MD3 law: Jokowi

SERANG - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that he had not signed the Law on People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR), House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Council (DPD), and People`s Representative Council (DPRD), or MD3, even after 30 days since the Bill was approved by the DPR and the government.

IBP/net

BJ Habibie undergoes mitraclip installation

JAKARTA - The health condition of the third president of Indonesia, BJ Habibie, was getting better after the installation of the mitraclip for handling natural heart problems. According to the press release, the procedure was conducted on Wednesday at 08.00 a.m. local time.

Mitraclip is a small clip attached to the leaflets of the mitral valve to make two small holes in the leaking valve. The procedure is conducted without surgery, but through a catheter.

The team that performed the procedure included the best specialist physicians in Europe, who were successful in installing the mitraclip on Habibie. The procedure was carried out after medical examination and procedures conducted since Tuesday (Feb 27) at Stanberg. In the press release, the Habibie Center also expressed its gratitude for the support rendered

by President Joko Widodo and all the people of Indonesia.

“Please pray for Habibie`s health to get better,” the press re-

“This is the last day of the plan of MD Law establishment, and I choose not to sign the law,” he stated, after the handover of land certificate here, on Wednesday.

The head of state noted that he realized and understood that the Act would still apply even though he had not signed it. “I urge the people to submit a material

lease stated. Earlier, Jokowi called Habibie, via telephone on March 4, 2018, for a moment, while praying for his quick recovery. He hoped Habibie would be able to get back to his activities as usual.

Habibie is currently undergoing treatment in Munich, Germany. He had reportedly experienced suffocation during his personal visit to Germany on Feb 27, 2018. He was then taken to a hospital in Munich.

A presidential physician had accompanied BJ Habibie`s health care team since March 4, 2018.

Jokowi, at that time, had sent Prof.

Dr. Lukman Hakim Makmun, SpPD, KKV (K), one of the specialists of heart and blood vessels in the presidential physicians? team, to Germany.

After conducting several health procedures, doctors diagnosed the presence of abnormal valves in Habibie?s heart. Through close communication and coordination with a team of doctors in Munich, it was concluded that heart valve abnormalities do not require invasive action. (rtr)

test to the Constitutional Court to solve the problem,” he stressed. Jokowi revealed that he had not signed it, because it was considered to cause unrest in the public.

The president also stated he would not issue the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu), because the DPR would need to sign it in the end.

“The material needs to be tested as many agencies had approved the material test,” he added. The situation in the DPR had not been conducive after the publication of several articles that became a debate in the society, he revealed.

“Indeed, the ministers would not report to me anymore. Therefore, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has stated that if it has been pushed more than 75 percent, then it would show the long and fast dynamics there,” he explained. (rtr)

IBP/net

Jokowi

E Belitung proposed to be global geopark

REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel takes her seat before a swear-in ceremony of her government in Germany’s lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2018.

11

BELITUNG - The Administration of East Belitung District, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, has proposed a geopark in the area to be included in the UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGG) list in order to enhance tourism development and increase the number of tourist visits. “Hopefully in September this year East Belitung Geopark will be on the UGG list,”

the Head of Kelapa Kampit Subdistrict Administration, Yuspian, said here on Wednesday.

He added that East Belitung Geopark is different from other areas in the district as it has a combination of biological, geological, and cultural aspects. “If it is approved by UNESCO, East Belitung Geopark will be Indonesia`s third UGG,” he said. Yuspian explained

that the geological sites in East Belitung are quite large, including open pits, Keran Island, mangroves, and Mount Lumut.

“Among the geo-sites, the iconic one is the open pit,” he said. On its website UNESCO defines Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a

holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.

Their bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while engaging local communities is becoming increasingly popular. At present, there are 127 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 35 countries, including two areas in Indonesia, namely, Batur in Bali and Gunung (Mount) Sewu in the

Southern Mountains of East Java.

Batur UNESCO Global Geopark covers an area of 370.5 square kilometers. It has outer-caldera wall which surrounds the innercaldera wall, Mt. Batur and the lake. Meanwhile, Gunung Sewu which extends east-west along 120 kilometers is a depression zone occupied by Merapi and Lawu active volcanoes. (ant)

10

Destination

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Fernando Alonso of McLaren during testing. Picture taken March 9, 2018.

Bali Paintball Arena

MANGUPURA - Recently unveiled with a major facelift in brand and fresh, expansive grounds in Ungasan, the Bali Paintball Arena welcomes those with a penchant for adrenaline rushes and fast-paced fun to try out this competitive sport.

It’s a good way to spend an exciting day with a group of friends, and for families with teens who need to take their sibling rivalry to the field – in a positive way! The cliff-top arena is the only dedicated site in Bali where you can experience this sport, especially for the ‘woodsball’ or natural open environment aspect of this sport. It comprises three separate playing fields on over two hectares of hilly terrain with natural undergrowth and manmade wreckage hideouts, bunkers and various

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obstacles throughout.

The Bali Paintball Arena sits on scrubland within Bukit Ungasan, a rural region part of the island’s southern Bukit peninsula. Getting up here from the other main areas gives an ‘into the wilderness’ edge to your journey. It is a half-hour trip from Nusa Dua and an approximate hour’s drive from Kuta.

The operators provide free hotel transfer services as part of their packages. Just after the welcoming drinks briefing and trial sessions are held with a weapons and gear tour.

Bali Paintball Arena stocks all the latest imported equipment. These include semi-automatic guns that provide accuracy and reliability, and most of all are lightweight and easy to operate. Slip into the mili-

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tary-styled camouflage jumpsuits, don headscarves, pick one of the awesome-looking Anex masks and feel like Rambo. The equipment is both neat and high-tech. The masks incorporate a double-lens face protector system – the most advanced form of eye and face protection on the market. The jumpsuits are thick drill woven to protect you from the rigours of combat.

At target practice, the instructor shows you how to handle a gun, load, point and then shoot at a coloured bull’s-eye. The gelatine shelled capsules simply splat on impact, leaving bright marks on the dartboard-like metal plate. After everyone gets a hang of it, the battle sessions begin!

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groups to compete against each other in various forms of game setups. The battle atmosphere changes depending on the weather. In the rainy season the trees grow green and lush, but in the dry season the plants will wither and players will rely more on the various artificial barriers to hide and survive.

The two-hectare compound consists of Castle Island, The Kampung and an upcoming Speed Arena. These arenas are adjustable in accordance to the number of players. Castle Island suits games in the manner of ‘capture the flag’ that involves teamwork and strategy. Each team begins with the division of tasks among players and discusses winning strategies.

Kampung Bali resembles a mission

to seize a kampung or village. One team defends while the other tries to invade. During the struggles, casualties on both sides will fall. The team with the most survivors wins.

Various packages are available, but all include playing gear, a hundred or more paintball charges with extras available for purchase, game sessions on different battlefields, mineral water, a light meal and soft drinks, and insurance coverage. At the value package of Rp 400,000 per person, you get 100 balls and two game sessions to play in. The property also features staging and spectator areas for troopers ‘gone MIA’, locker and changing rooms, a large lobby with satellite channel television feeds, and a wide parking area. (net)

Place Your Add Here

It is for Job Vacancy, Property, Selling or Buying

B.BP.001.02.18.0001374

Need Waiter/Waitess,IT/Design, Bartender,Cook for Resto in Kuta. Send CV + Foto to Email: wikamitra@yahoo. com Phone/WA :089693670981

B.BP.001.01.18.0000157

Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500

Alonso ready to fight on two fronts

LONDON - Fernando Alonso faces the busiest year of any Formula One driver but the Spaniard has played down fears he could be spreading himself too thin by competing in two world championships at once.

The 36-year-old gets one campaign started next week when he lines up for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the first of a record-equalling 21 F1 races around the world this season.

The double F1 world champion, who competed in the Indianapolis

500 last year, will also race for Toyota at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June and in the full World Endurance championship.

Alonso’s road to Le Mans, as well as McLaren’s new start in Formula One with Renault engines after three dismal years with Toyota’s Japanese rivals Honda,

will be among the top storylines of the motorsport year.

“The only concern is travelling,” he told reporters during winter testing in Barcelona when asked about his ambitious programme.

“Travelling is going to be energyconsuming and I need to be very efficient on that.

“Every delay on the flight or every connection that you miss is going to hurt this year. So hopefully everything runs smoothly.”

The target is to become only

CALIFORNIA - World number one Roger Federer advanced to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old surrendered just three points on serve in the opening set and took control of the second with a crosscourt backhand winner that broke Chardy when tied at 4-4.

“I like his play. He hits it big, has a big serve, big forehand,” said Federer, a five-time champion at Indian Wells.

“The wind picked up, so you never know what’s going to happen.

But I think we played really good tennis for most of the match.”

Federer needed just one hour and 22 minutes to move to 15-0 for the year. The last time he began a season 15-0 was 2006 when he would finish the year with 12 titles and three grand slams.

Federer will next face South Korea’s Chung Hyeon, who defeated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-1 6-3.

It will be a rematch of their Australian Open semi-final in January when Chung had to retire due to blistered feet.

Juan Martin del Potro, a runnerup in Indian Wells in 2013, battled a bad back to outlast Leonardo Mayer 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3.

“I was surprised by Mayer’s level today,” del Potro said. “I think I was very smart during the

tiebreak. After that I turned the match around and took control of the points.”

Next up for the Argentine is Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who advanced with a 6-4 7-6(1) win over France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Kevin Anderson beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 6-3 7-6(6), the South African recording 16 aces in a victory that took him to a last eight tie against Croatian Borna Coric, who defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-7(6) 6-4.

Sam Querrey, the lone American remaining in the men’s draw, reached the quarters with a 6-3 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez of Spain. (rtr)

Federer fends off Frenchman Chardy at Indian Wells

the second driver to achieve the so-called ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport, a feat completed by the late Briton Graham Hill in 1972.

It involves winning the Indy 500, Le Mans and Formula One championship, although it can also be the Monaco Grand Prix which Alonso has won twice.

The Spaniard, who led at Indianapolis before his car broke down, competed in the Daytona 24 Hours in January to acclimatise himself and is up for the challenge.

Roger Federer (SUI) during his fourth round match against Jeremy Chardy (not pictured) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“There are many things that I am now in the point of my career that I can deal with. Probably a couple of years ago maybe I didn’t have the knowledge of all of the areas,” he said.

“So I thought now was the time to do it and I feel ready. I think in terms of mental approach it’s going to be not an issue because every time you jump in the car you want to be competitive.

“Physically, while driving it’s going to be OK.” (rtr)

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

8

Friday, March 16, 2018

Friday, March 16, 2018

Sp rt

Conte says Chelsea loss to Barca was ‘unfair’

Hughes handed task of saving Southampton from relegation

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi before the match

King Messi lights up the Nou Camp yet again

BARCELONA - The evening started with one of Lionel Messi’s greatest Champions League games being remembered and ended with the Argentine adding another to his illustrious collection. “God save the king”, read a banner wielded by Barcelona fans at the start of the game, accompanied by an image of Messi celebrating after the extraordinary 6-1 triumph over Paris St Germain last season.

in the world,” Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said.

“We are talking about a player who scores 60 goals every season. We are talking not about a top player but a super top player. He made the difference.” Messi’s virtuoso display also drew praise from his captain Andres Iniesta.

“As we always say, Leo makes the difference in each game, it’s a blessing to have him,” Iniesta said.

“I hope that we can bring ourselves closer to winning this Champions League. We have taken another step.”

While Barcelona’s 3-0 last 16 second-leg win over Chelsea on Wednesday to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory did not need to live up to the incredible comeback against PSG, Messi delivered another performance for the ages.

The 30-year-old missed Saturday’s 2-0 win at Malaga after the birth of his third son, Ciro, but returned to fire Barcelona into the quarter-finals with two goals as well as setting up Ousmane Dembele’s first for the club.

Messi broke the deadlock after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal for his career, when he slotted the ball through Thibaut Courtois’ legs from a tight angle.

A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea’s defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half. That was Messi’s 100th goal in the Champions League, becoming only the second player to reach that milestone after Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Tonight (and) in the two legs, Lionel Messi made the difference. We are talking about the best player

China

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he has an offer from a Chinese club and he must decide his future before the end of April. The 33-year-old playmaker, who signed a lifetime contract with Barcelona in October, has been linked with Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian. Although Tianjin released a statement saying the reports were untrue, Iniesta confirmed on Wednesday that a Chinese team have made an offer for him.

“I must decide before April 30 whether to stay at Barcelona or go to China,” Iniesta told reporters after Barcelona beat Chelsea 3-0 at the Nou Camp in the Champions League. “I have to weigh up which is best for me and for the club.”

Iniesta returned from a hamstring injury to start the game and helped Barcelona reach the quarter-finals of the competition. “I don’t know (what he will do), it’s a very personal decision, he has to decide,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.

“He has his reasons and will decide what’s best for him. I’m not thinking of a Barcelona without Andres Iniesta because right now we have a Barcelona with Andres Iniesta.” (rtr)

LONDON - Premier League Southampton named Mark Hughes as their new manager on Wednesday, handing him the task of rescuing the club from the threat of relegation only two months after he was fired by Stoke City. The former Wales and Manchester City boss replaced Argentine Mauricio Pellegrino, who was sacked on Monday with the club fourth from bottom in the Premier League table, a point and a place above the drop zone.

The 54-year-old Hughes has been given a contract until the end of the season, the club said in a statement on their website.

Hughes, a former Southampton player, guided Stoke to top-10 finishes for three successive seasons from 2013 to 2016 but is no stranger to this season’s relegation dogfight.

Stoke were in the drop zone when he was sacked after an FA Cup third-round defeat by League Two (fourth tier) Coventry City in January. “It’s a challenge I’m excited by. It’s a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well, and a club I’ve got real affinity with, and I couldn’t turn that down,” Hughes said.

“The objective clearly is to remain in the league and make sure we’re a Premier League club next year. That’s where this

club needs to be, that’s where it should be, and that’s our intention to make sure it remains there.” Southampton have won five league games this season and managed only one victory, against bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion, in Pellegrino’s last 17 Premier League matches at the helm.

Southampton, who are the ninth Premier League club to change manager this term, are in their sixth straight season in the top flight and have not finished lower than 14th in that time.

“Hughes has agreed a contract with the club until the end of the season and will take training at the club’s Staplewood Campus for the first time on Thursday,” Southampton said. “The club is confident that this appointment will allow the complete focus of the manager, players and staff to be on the remaining games of this season.”

Southampton visit thirdtier Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday but their next league game is not until March 31 when they travel to relegation rivals We s t H a m U n i t e d . H u g h e s , the former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea striker, also managed Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers. (rtr)

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

River Plate beat Boca to win Argentine Supercup

BUENOS AIRES - River Plate scored a goal in each half to secure a 2-0 Argentine Supercup win over Boca Juniors in a showdown between the Buenos Aires rivals on Wednesday.

Gonzalo Martinez opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 17 minutes following a foul on

Ignacio Fernandez and while Boca had several chances to equalize, Franco Armani simply refused to be beaten in the River goal.

River withstood the assault before their forwards took advantage with 20 minutes remaining when Ignacio Scocco finished off a fine move that once again involved

Fernandez and Martinez.

The Supercup pits the winner of the Argentine Cup against the league champions but this was only the second time the country’s biggest clubs have met in a domestic final as River avenged a 1976 top-flight title showdown defeat to Boca.

Miedema’s strike helps Arsenal claim Women’s Super League Cup

Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema’s first-half goal helped Arsenal beat defending champions Manchester City 1-0 and clinch a record fifth FA Women’s Super League Cup title on Wednesday.

Miedema latched on to a deep cross from defender Dominique Janssen on 32 minutes and held off her marker to slot past City

IBP/net

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck at Adams Park, Wycombe.

Favourites City, holders of the Women’s FA Cup and Women’s Super League One title, went close to restoring parity through forwards Nikita Parris and Jane Ross but Arsenal held on.

“It really is a huge achievement,” Miedema said. “We’ve got a load of respect for them because

they’re an amazing team. I’m really happy we managed to beat them today.”

Twice champions City are the only other team to have won the competition which was started in 2011.

Arsenal next take on Charlton Athletic in an FA Cup sixth-round clash on Sunday while City are at Sunderland. (rtr)

BARCELONA - Antonio Conte insisted Barcelona’s Champions League win over Chelsea on Wednesday was unfair after his team’s valiant efforts were overshadowed by Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou. Messi scored twice and set up Ousmane Dembele for the other as the hosts won 3-0 and progressed to the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea, however, were unlucky after they were again denied by the woodwork. Willian had been robbed by the post twice in the first leg while on Wednesday a Marcos Alonso free-kick smacked off the post while Antonio Rudiger headed against the woodwork late on. “We have no regrets,” said Conte. “If you watch the game, you can see the final result is unfair.

“We conceded a goal, our start was terrible. We hit the post four

9

times, this is very strange. “I must be honest, I have to be very proud about my players, we have to continue together this way, with this will to fight, this desire to fight together.” Chelsea were the better team in the 1-1 first leg draw but in Catalonia they were dismantled by Messi, who twice fired through the legs of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to take him to 100 Champions League goals.

Chelsea’s Belgian goalkeeper admitted he made mistakes but said he must take that on the chin. “(For) the first goal I didn’t expect Lionel Messi to shoot from that angle and I was too late in closing my legs.

It was a mistake on my part,” said Courtois.

“It’s annoying but I don’t think I have to hide inside. I have to come out and be a man and show you made a mistake and move on.” (rtr)

8

Friday, March 16, 2018

Friday, March 16, 2018

Sp rt

Conte says Chelsea loss to Barca was ‘unfair’

Hughes handed task of saving Southampton from relegation

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi before the match

King Messi lights up the Nou Camp yet again

BARCELONA - The evening started with one of Lionel Messi’s greatest Champions League games being remembered and ended with the Argentine adding another to his illustrious collection. “God save the king”, read a banner wielded by Barcelona fans at the start of the game, accompanied by an image of Messi celebrating after the extraordinary 6-1 triumph over Paris St Germain last season.

in the world,” Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said.

“We are talking about a player who scores 60 goals every season. We are talking not about a top player but a super top player. He made the difference.” Messi’s virtuoso display also drew praise from his captain Andres Iniesta.

“As we always say, Leo makes the difference in each game, it’s a blessing to have him,” Iniesta said.

“I hope that we can bring ourselves closer to winning this Champions League. We have taken another step.”

While Barcelona’s 3-0 last 16 second-leg win over Chelsea on Wednesday to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory did not need to live up to the incredible comeback against PSG, Messi delivered another performance for the ages.

The 30-year-old missed Saturday’s 2-0 win at Malaga after the birth of his third son, Ciro, but returned to fire Barcelona into the quarter-finals with two goals as well as setting up Ousmane Dembele’s first for the club.

Messi broke the deadlock after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal for his career, when he slotted the ball through Thibaut Courtois’ legs from a tight angle.

A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea’s defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half. That was Messi’s 100th goal in the Champions League, becoming only the second player to reach that milestone after Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Tonight (and) in the two legs, Lionel Messi made the difference. We are talking about the best player

China

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he has an offer from a Chinese club and he must decide his future before the end of April. The 33-year-old playmaker, who signed a lifetime contract with Barcelona in October, has been linked with Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian. Although Tianjin released a statement saying the reports were untrue, Iniesta confirmed on Wednesday that a Chinese team have made an offer for him.

“I must decide before April 30 whether to stay at Barcelona or go to China,” Iniesta told reporters after Barcelona beat Chelsea 3-0 at the Nou Camp in the Champions League. “I have to weigh up which is best for me and for the club.”

Iniesta returned from a hamstring injury to start the game and helped Barcelona reach the quarter-finals of the competition. “I don’t know (what he will do), it’s a very personal decision, he has to decide,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.

“He has his reasons and will decide what’s best for him. I’m not thinking of a Barcelona without Andres Iniesta because right now we have a Barcelona with Andres Iniesta.” (rtr)

LONDON - Premier League Southampton named Mark Hughes as their new manager on Wednesday, handing him the task of rescuing the club from the threat of relegation only two months after he was fired by Stoke City. The former Wales and Manchester City boss replaced Argentine Mauricio Pellegrino, who was sacked on Monday with the club fourth from bottom in the Premier League table, a point and a place above the drop zone.

The 54-year-old Hughes has been given a contract until the end of the season, the club said in a statement on their website.

Hughes, a former Southampton player, guided Stoke to top-10 finishes for three successive seasons from 2013 to 2016 but is no stranger to this season’s relegation dogfight.

Stoke were in the drop zone when he was sacked after an FA Cup third-round defeat by League Two (fourth tier) Coventry City in January. “It’s a challenge I’m excited by. It’s a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well, and a club I’ve got real affinity with, and I couldn’t turn that down,” Hughes said.

“The objective clearly is to remain in the league and make sure we’re a Premier League club next year. That’s where this

club needs to be, that’s where it should be, and that’s our intention to make sure it remains there.” Southampton have won five league games this season and managed only one victory, against bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion, in Pellegrino’s last 17 Premier League matches at the helm.

Southampton, who are the ninth Premier League club to change manager this term, are in their sixth straight season in the top flight and have not finished lower than 14th in that time.

“Hughes has agreed a contract with the club until the end of the season and will take training at the club’s Staplewood Campus for the first time on Thursday,” Southampton said. “The club is confident that this appointment will allow the complete focus of the manager, players and staff to be on the remaining games of this season.”

Southampton visit thirdtier Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday but their next league game is not until March 31 when they travel to relegation rivals We s t H a m U n i t e d . H u g h e s , the former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea striker, also managed Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers. (rtr)

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

River Plate beat Boca to win Argentine Supercup

BUENOS AIRES - River Plate scored a goal in each half to secure a 2-0 Argentine Supercup win over Boca Juniors in a showdown between the Buenos Aires rivals on Wednesday.

Gonzalo Martinez opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 17 minutes following a foul on

Ignacio Fernandez and while Boca had several chances to equalize, Franco Armani simply refused to be beaten in the River goal.

River withstood the assault before their forwards took advantage with 20 minutes remaining when Ignacio Scocco finished off a fine move that once again involved

Fernandez and Martinez.

The Supercup pits the winner of the Argentine Cup against the league champions but this was only the second time the country’s biggest clubs have met in a domestic final as River avenged a 1976 top-flight title showdown defeat to Boca.

Miedema’s strike helps Arsenal claim Women’s Super League Cup

Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema’s first-half goal helped Arsenal beat defending champions Manchester City 1-0 and clinch a record fifth FA Women’s Super League Cup title on Wednesday.

Miedema latched on to a deep cross from defender Dominique Janssen on 32 minutes and held off her marker to slot past City

IBP/net

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck at Adams Park, Wycombe.

Favourites City, holders of the Women’s FA Cup and Women’s Super League One title, went close to restoring parity through forwards Nikita Parris and Jane Ross but Arsenal held on.

“It really is a huge achievement,” Miedema said. “We’ve got a load of respect for them because

they’re an amazing team. I’m really happy we managed to beat them today.”

Twice champions City are the only other team to have won the competition which was started in 2011.

Arsenal next take on Charlton Athletic in an FA Cup sixth-round clash on Sunday while City are at Sunderland. (rtr)

BARCELONA - Antonio Conte insisted Barcelona’s Champions League win over Chelsea on Wednesday was unfair after his team’s valiant efforts were overshadowed by Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou. Messi scored twice and set up Ousmane Dembele for the other as the hosts won 3-0 and progressed to the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea, however, were unlucky after they were again denied by the woodwork. Willian had been robbed by the post twice in the first leg while on Wednesday a Marcos Alonso free-kick smacked off the post while Antonio Rudiger headed against the woodwork late on. “We have no regrets,” said Conte. “If you watch the game, you can see the final result is unfair.

“We conceded a goal, our start was terrible. We hit the post four

9

times, this is very strange. “I must be honest, I have to be very proud about my players, we have to continue together this way, with this will to fight, this desire to fight together.” Chelsea were the better team in the 1-1 first leg draw but in Catalonia they were dismantled by Messi, who twice fired through the legs of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to take him to 100 Champions League goals.

Chelsea’s Belgian goalkeeper admitted he made mistakes but said he must take that on the chin. “(For) the first goal I didn’t expect Lionel Messi to shoot from that angle and I was too late in closing my legs.

It was a mistake on my part,” said Courtois.

“It’s annoying but I don’t think I have to hide inside. I have to come out and be a man and show you made a mistake and move on.” (rtr)

10

Destination

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Fernando Alonso of McLaren during testing. Picture taken March 9, 2018.

Bali Paintball Arena

MANGUPURA - Recently unveiled with a major facelift in brand and fresh, expansive grounds in Ungasan, the Bali Paintball Arena welcomes those with a penchant for adrenaline rushes and fast-paced fun to try out this competitive sport.

It’s a good way to spend an exciting day with a group of friends, and for families with teens who need to take their sibling rivalry to the field – in a positive way! The cliff-top arena is the only dedicated site in Bali where you can experience this sport, especially for the ‘woodsball’ or natural open environment aspect of this sport. It comprises three separate playing fields on over two hectares of hilly terrain with natural undergrowth and manmade wreckage hideouts, bunkers and various

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obstacles throughout.

The Bali Paintball Arena sits on scrubland within Bukit Ungasan, a rural region part of the island’s southern Bukit peninsula. Getting up here from the other main areas gives an ‘into the wilderness’ edge to your journey. It is a half-hour trip from Nusa Dua and an approximate hour’s drive from Kuta.

The operators provide free hotel transfer services as part of their packages. Just after the welcoming drinks briefing and trial sessions are held with a weapons and gear tour.

Bali Paintball Arena stocks all the latest imported equipment. These include semi-automatic guns that provide accuracy and reliability, and most of all are lightweight and easy to operate. Slip into the mili-

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tary-styled camouflage jumpsuits, don headscarves, pick one of the awesome-looking Anex masks and feel like Rambo. The equipment is both neat and high-tech. The masks incorporate a double-lens face protector system – the most advanced form of eye and face protection on the market. The jumpsuits are thick drill woven to protect you from the rigours of combat.

At target practice, the instructor shows you how to handle a gun, load, point and then shoot at a coloured bull’s-eye. The gelatine shelled capsules simply splat on impact, leaving bright marks on the dartboard-like metal plate. After everyone gets a hang of it, the battle sessions begin!

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groups to compete against each other in various forms of game setups. The battle atmosphere changes depending on the weather. In the rainy season the trees grow green and lush, but in the dry season the plants will wither and players will rely more on the various artificial barriers to hide and survive.

The two-hectare compound consists of Castle Island, The Kampung and an upcoming Speed Arena. These arenas are adjustable in accordance to the number of players. Castle Island suits games in the manner of ‘capture the flag’ that involves teamwork and strategy. Each team begins with the division of tasks among players and discusses winning strategies.

Kampung Bali resembles a mission

to seize a kampung or village. One team defends while the other tries to invade. During the struggles, casualties on both sides will fall. The team with the most survivors wins.

Various packages are available, but all include playing gear, a hundred or more paintball charges with extras available for purchase, game sessions on different battlefields, mineral water, a light meal and soft drinks, and insurance coverage. At the value package of Rp 400,000 per person, you get 100 balls and two game sessions to play in. The property also features staging and spectator areas for troopers ‘gone MIA’, locker and changing rooms, a large lobby with satellite channel television feeds, and a wide parking area. (net)

Place Your Add Here

It is for Job Vacancy, Property, Selling or Buying

B.BP.001.02.18.0001374

Need Waiter/Waitess,IT/Design, Bartender,Cook for Resto in Kuta. Send CV + Foto to Email: wikamitra@yahoo. com Phone/WA :089693670981

B.BP.001.01.18.0000157

Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500

Alonso ready to fight on two fronts

LONDON - Fernando Alonso faces the busiest year of any Formula One driver but the Spaniard has played down fears he could be spreading himself too thin by competing in two world championships at once.

The 36-year-old gets one campaign started next week when he lines up for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the first of a record-equalling 21 F1 races around the world this season.

The double F1 world champion, who competed in the Indianapolis

500 last year, will also race for Toyota at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June and in the full World Endurance championship.

Alonso’s road to Le Mans, as well as McLaren’s new start in Formula One with Renault engines after three dismal years with Toyota’s Japanese rivals Honda,

will be among the top storylines of the motorsport year.

“The only concern is travelling,” he told reporters during winter testing in Barcelona when asked about his ambitious programme.

“Travelling is going to be energyconsuming and I need to be very efficient on that.

“Every delay on the flight or every connection that you miss is going to hurt this year. So hopefully everything runs smoothly.”

The target is to become only

CALIFORNIA - World number one Roger Federer advanced to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old surrendered just three points on serve in the opening set and took control of the second with a crosscourt backhand winner that broke Chardy when tied at 4-4.

“I like his play. He hits it big, has a big serve, big forehand,” said Federer, a five-time champion at Indian Wells.

“The wind picked up, so you never know what’s going to happen.

But I think we played really good tennis for most of the match.”

Federer needed just one hour and 22 minutes to move to 15-0 for the year. The last time he began a season 15-0 was 2006 when he would finish the year with 12 titles and three grand slams.

Federer will next face South Korea’s Chung Hyeon, who defeated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-1 6-3.

It will be a rematch of their Australian Open semi-final in January when Chung had to retire due to blistered feet.

Juan Martin del Potro, a runnerup in Indian Wells in 2013, battled a bad back to outlast Leonardo Mayer 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3.

“I was surprised by Mayer’s level today,” del Potro said. “I think I was very smart during the

tiebreak. After that I turned the match around and took control of the points.”

Next up for the Argentine is Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who advanced with a 6-4 7-6(1) win over France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Kevin Anderson beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 6-3 7-6(6), the South African recording 16 aces in a victory that took him to a last eight tie against Croatian Borna Coric, who defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-7(6) 6-4.

Sam Querrey, the lone American remaining in the men’s draw, reached the quarters with a 6-3 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez of Spain. (rtr)

Federer fends off Frenchman Chardy at Indian Wells

the second driver to achieve the so-called ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport, a feat completed by the late Briton Graham Hill in 1972.

It involves winning the Indy 500, Le Mans and Formula One championship, although it can also be the Monaco Grand Prix which Alonso has won twice.

The Spaniard, who led at Indianapolis before his car broke down, competed in the Daytona 24 Hours in January to acclimatise himself and is up for the challenge.

Roger Federer (SUI) during his fourth round match against Jeremy Chardy (not pictured) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“There are many things that I am now in the point of my career that I can deal with. Probably a couple of years ago maybe I didn’t have the knowledge of all of the areas,” he said.

“So I thought now was the time to do it and I feel ready. I think in terms of mental approach it’s going to be not an issue because every time you jump in the car you want to be competitive.

“Physically, while driving it’s going to be OK.” (rtr)

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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Friday, March 16, 2018

W

RLD French President Emmanuel Macron (R) escorts Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May after they spoke to the press at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 13, 2017.

REUTERS/ Philippe Wojazer/ File Photo

Russia to expel UK diplomats as row over spy attack escalates

MOSCOW - Russia will soon expel British diplomats in retaliation for Britain’s decision to kick out 23 Russian envoys over a chemical attack on a former Russian double agent, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

In London, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ratcheted up the rhetoric against Russia, accusing it of glorying in the attack on Sergei Skripal, which he described as a way of scaring anyone who stood up to President Vladimir Putin.

Britain says Russia is responsible for the poisoning with a Soviet-era ‘Novichok’ nerve agent of Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33. They were found unconscious on March 4 in the city of Salisbury in southern England and remain critically ill in hospital.

Moscow denies any involvement. The Kremlin said the British position was irresponsible and not backed up by evidence. It said Britain would not have to wait long for Russia’s response.

Lavrov was quoted by the official news agency RIA as saying the accusations were unacceptable and that British diplomats would be expelled.

But in a series of British media interviews early on Thursday, Johnson said the evidence of Russian guilt was “overwhelming” because only Moscow had access to the poison used and a motive for harming Sergei Skripal.

“There is something in the kind of smug, sarcastic response that we’re heard from the Russians that to me betokens their fundamental guilt,” he told the BBC. “They want to simultaneously deny it and yet at the same time to glory in it.”

Johnson said the attack was a way for Putin to send a message to anyone considering taking a stand against it that ‘You do that, you are going to die’.

TARGETING RUSSIAN MONEY

A former agent of the GRU, Russia’s military intel-

Bali’s New Year’s Day...

From page 1

The island’s airport will also shut for 24 hours from 06:00 on Saturday (22:00 GMT Friday).

ligence agency, Skripal betrayed dozens of Russian agents to Britain before being arrested in Moscow and jailed in 2006. He was freed as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 and took refuge in Britain.

At home, the British government has been under pressure from lawmakers and media to show it is getting tough on Russia, with some experts saying that despite the rhetoric the response did not go far enough to bother Putin.

Johnson defended the measures announced on Wednesday and suggested that there could be further consequences for wealthy Russians with assets in Britain.

“We will go after the money and actually we are going after the money,” he said, adding that the National Crime Agency and Economic Crimes Unit were investigating a wide range of individuals. He declined to give details, citing legal reasons.

“What people want to see is some of the very rich people ... whose wealth can be attributed to their relationship with Vladimir Putin, it may be that the law agencies, that the police will be able to put unexplained wealth orders on them, to bring them to justice for their acts of gross corruption,” he said.

Johnson also said he had been heartened by strong expressions of support from the United States and other allies -- although it remains unclear whether there will be a coordinated international response to the Novichok attack.

France, which on Wednesday had said it wanted proof of Russian involvement before deciding whether to take action against Russia, appeared to change its position on Thursday, saying it agreed with the assessment of its NATO ally Britain.

“France agrees with the United Kingdom that there is no other plausible explanation (than Russian involvement) and reiterates its solidarity with its ally,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. (rtr)

“Many Hindu people are addicted to gadgets,” Hinduism Society head Gusti Ngurah Sudiana said.

“I hope during Nyepi they can be introspective.”

Nyoman Sujaya, the Bali office chief of Indonesia’s communica-

tions ministry, announced the plan on Tuesday but said other internet access would operate as usual.”Wifi at hotels, public services and vital objects such as airports, hospitals, security forces and banking still can run normally,” he said. (ant)

International

International

Friday, March 16, 2018

Weakened Merkel begins 4th term beset by challenges BERLIN - German lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Angela Merkel as chancellor for a fourth, and likely final, term that may prove her most challenging yet as she takes charge of a fragile coalition with her personal standing diminished.

Lawmakers voted by 364 to 315, with nine abstentions, in favour of re-electing Merkel, a humbling start as the coalition of her conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has 399 votes in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

“I accept the vote,” a beaming Merkel, 63, told lawmakers before being sworn in by Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble.

She later told broadcaster the ruling parties would focus on taking support away from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt them in last September’s national election.

“That is our aim - that we make them (AfD) smaller and get them out of the Bundestag again insofar as is possible,” she said. “We want a coalition that appeals to all people in the country.”

In office since 2005, Merkel has dominated Germany’s political landscape and steered the European Union through economic crisis.

But her authority was dented by her decision in 2015 to commit Germany to an open-door policy on refugees, resulting in an influx of more than one million people that laid bare deep divisions within the EU over migration and fuelled the AfD. While also being locked in a trade stand-off with the United States, Merkel must now juggle competing domestic demands from within her coalition.

Her conservative CDU/CSU alliance only turned to the SPD to prolong the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed Germany since 2013 out of desperation, after talks on a three-way alliance with two smaller parties collapsed in November.

“It will not be an easy coalition, we have some difficult tasks ahead,” said Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the conservative bloc.

Ministers, younger and more diverse than the last cabinet, take up their posts almost six months after last September’s national election.

“I have the feeling that nothing good is going to be done for the country in this legislature period,” said Alice Weidel, the AfD’s leader in parliament. “It will probably be Angela Merkel’s last term and at some point it will be enough.” (rtr)

I have not signed MD3 law: Jokowi

SERANG - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that he had not signed the Law on People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR), House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Council (DPD), and People`s Representative Council (DPRD), or MD3, even after 30 days since the Bill was approved by the DPR and the government.

IBP/net

BJ Habibie undergoes mitraclip installation

JAKARTA - The health condition of the third president of Indonesia, BJ Habibie, was getting better after the installation of the mitraclip for handling natural heart problems. According to the press release, the procedure was conducted on Wednesday at 08.00 a.m. local time.

Mitraclip is a small clip attached to the leaflets of the mitral valve to make two small holes in the leaking valve. The procedure is conducted without surgery, but through a catheter.

The team that performed the procedure included the best specialist physicians in Europe, who were successful in installing the mitraclip on Habibie. The procedure was carried out after medical examination and procedures conducted since Tuesday (Feb 27) at Stanberg. In the press release, the Habibie Center also expressed its gratitude for the support rendered

by President Joko Widodo and all the people of Indonesia.

“Please pray for Habibie`s health to get better,” the press re-

“This is the last day of the plan of MD Law establishment, and I choose not to sign the law,” he stated, after the handover of land certificate here, on Wednesday.

The head of state noted that he realized and understood that the Act would still apply even though he had not signed it. “I urge the people to submit a material

lease stated. Earlier, Jokowi called Habibie, via telephone on March 4, 2018, for a moment, while praying for his quick recovery. He hoped Habibie would be able to get back to his activities as usual.

Habibie is currently undergoing treatment in Munich, Germany. He had reportedly experienced suffocation during his personal visit to Germany on Feb 27, 2018. He was then taken to a hospital in Munich.

A presidential physician had accompanied BJ Habibie`s health care team since March 4, 2018.

Jokowi, at that time, had sent Prof.

Dr. Lukman Hakim Makmun, SpPD, KKV (K), one of the specialists of heart and blood vessels in the presidential physicians? team, to Germany.

After conducting several health procedures, doctors diagnosed the presence of abnormal valves in Habibie?s heart. Through close communication and coordination with a team of doctors in Munich, it was concluded that heart valve abnormalities do not require invasive action. (rtr)

test to the Constitutional Court to solve the problem,” he stressed. Jokowi revealed that he had not signed it, because it was considered to cause unrest in the public.

The president also stated he would not issue the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu), because the DPR would need to sign it in the end.

“The material needs to be tested as many agencies had approved the material test,” he added. The situation in the DPR had not been conducive after the publication of several articles that became a debate in the society, he revealed.

“Indeed, the ministers would not report to me anymore. Therefore, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has stated that if it has been pushed more than 75 percent, then it would show the long and fast dynamics there,” he explained. (rtr)

IBP/net

Jokowi

E Belitung proposed to be global geopark

REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel takes her seat before a swear-in ceremony of her government in Germany’s lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2018.

11

BELITUNG - The Administration of East Belitung District, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, has proposed a geopark in the area to be included in the UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGG) list in order to enhance tourism development and increase the number of tourist visits. “Hopefully in September this year East Belitung Geopark will be on the UGG list,”

the Head of Kelapa Kampit Subdistrict Administration, Yuspian, said here on Wednesday.

He added that East Belitung Geopark is different from other areas in the district as it has a combination of biological, geological, and cultural aspects. “If it is approved by UNESCO, East Belitung Geopark will be Indonesia`s third UGG,” he said. Yuspian explained

that the geological sites in East Belitung are quite large, including open pits, Keran Island, mangroves, and Mount Lumut.

“Among the geo-sites, the iconic one is the open pit,” he said. On its website UNESCO defines Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a

holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.

Their bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while engaging local communities is becoming increasingly popular. At present, there are 127 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 35 countries, including two areas in Indonesia, namely, Batur in Bali and Gunung (Mount) Sewu in the

Southern Mountains of East Java.

Batur UNESCO Global Geopark covers an area of 370.5 square kilometers. It has outer-caldera wall which surrounds the innercaldera wall, Mt. Batur and the lake. Meanwhile, Gunung Sewu which extends east-west along 120 kilometers is a depression zone occupied by Merapi and Lawu active volcanoes. (ant)

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International

Friday, March 16, 2018

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

Pingit Waterfall

Bahrain counts on fintech, Saudi ties to revive indebted economy

MANAMA - In smart new offices with Gulf views, a dozen firms work on digital currencies, blockchainbased payments and other financial technology. Bahrain FinTech Bay, inaugurated last month, is part of the kingdom of 1.4 million’s drive to revive its reputation as the Middle East’s top banking and business centre.

Shi’ite protests against Sunni Muslim rulers in 2011 hurt Bahrain’s image. Some investors turned instead to nearby rival Dubai. Saudi Arabia, a friend and sponsor, sent soldiers to help quash the unrest in Bahrain and growth and foreign investment slowed. Then the plunge of oil prices from 2014 dramatically reduced state revenues, its credit ratings fell and debt soared.

Large debts still pose a risk as interest rates rise, but after a push to turn the economy around, Bahrain is starting to see initial signs of recovery. PayTabs, a Saudi company specialising in online payment solutions, will set up a base in Bahrain FinTech Bay in May. “Bahrain’s central location in the Middle East makes it a critical online payments hub,” PayTabs chief digital officer, Philippe Berard, said in a statement earlier this month.

“Internet penetration in the kingdom is over 90% – one of the highest in the world and it is only natural that e-commerce thrives against this backdrop.” Tap Payments, a mobile payment company founded in Kuwait, moved to Fintech Bay last month. Chief executive Ali Abulhasan said Bahrain had regulatory advantages when compared to other Gulf Cooperation Countries.

Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing subsidiary of e-commerce giant Amazon, decided last year to establish operations in Bahrain. Foreign investment from a record 71 companies was $733 million last year, up from $281 million and 40 companies in 2016, according to the government’s Economic Development Board. This contributed to average annual growth in real gross domestic product of more than 3.5 percent in the first three quarters of last year after rates below 3 percent in 2015 and 2016. Central bank governor Rasheed Mohammed al-Maraj said last month that growth could accelerate further as strong oil prices have bounced to around $65 a barrel from below $50 in mid-2017.

Importantly for Bahrain’s role as a financial centre, assets in its banking system appear to have stabilised. Total banking assets edged up 1.4 percent from the end of 2016 to $188.7 billion last November, latest data shows, though they remained well below pre-2011 levels above $200 billion.

STRATEGY Part of Bahrain’s revival is based on good

Ngerebeg, Offering to Share Fruits with Monkeys at Alas Kedaton

REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Bahrain FinTech Bay staff is seen in the reception area of its office in Bahrain Bay, Manama, Bahrain, February 28, 2018. Picture taken February 28, 2018. fortune: the oil price rebound. Fitch Ratings said this accounted for half of the narrowing of the government’s deficit last year. The fiscal gap shrank to 13.2 percent of GDP still very high - from 17.8 percent in 2016, International Monetary Fund estimates show.

But Bahrain has also reshaped its regulatory environment to attract investment more quickly and aggressively than most other Gulf states.

Sometimes that involves deregulation, such as a “regulatory sandbox” in which fintech firms can experiment without heavy supervision and licensing. In other areas, Bahrain is tightening regulation; this month it launched an agency to govern its real estate industry in order to crack down on abuses and draw more foreign money.

The government is also spending $32 billion on an infrastructure plan that includes airport expansion, the development by statecontrolled Aluminium Bahrain of one the world’s largest smelter complexes, and a $5 billion refinery upgrade by state-run Bahrain Petroleum Co. While this may add to pressure on state finances it should improve Bahrain’s

Friday, March 16, 2018

external position by boosting exports.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is marketing itself as a platform for companies seeking to profit from economic reforms in Saudi Arabia that make it more expensive to operate there as the authorities encourage employment of Saudi citizens.

RATES RISING Still, Bahrain is not without its problems.

Political violence continues sporadically and last month, authorities said they arrested four members of a cell behind a bomb attack on an oil pipeline. The other big economic threat is the cost of government debt.

All three major international rating agencies now assess Bahraini debt below investment grade, while the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product soared to 81 percent in 2017 from 34 percent in 2012, S&P estimates.

With global interest rates expected to climb in the next 12 to 18 months, Bahrain’s debt position may worsen further, “with interest payments likely to rise to as much as 15-20 percent of total government spending,”

London-based Capital Economics said. The current ratio is about 11.5 percent. Partly because of domestic opposition to austerity, authorities have not released a comprehensive plan to get state finances under control.

In January, the government said it would not proceed with new austerity steps until parliament agreed on how to compensate citizens for a higher cost of living.

But Bahrain may be able to postpone solving the problem. Investors believe Bahrain is able to count on financial support from Saudi Arabia in a crisis. “The expectation of such support has supported Bahrain’s market access and US dollar peg despite extremely low foreign exchange reserves,” Fitch Ratings said this month.

This perception allows Manama to keep borrowing successfully in international markets despite its junk rating. In addition, official sources and bankers in the region say Bahrain has since last year been discussing the possibility of obtaining additional aid from neighbouring countries such as Kuwait, although a final agreement has not been reached. (rtr)

Gamelan composition of bleganjur sounded so melodious. The traditional artists of this village played gamelan instrument accompanying the rows of housewives dressed in customary attires while upholding gebogan fruit arrangement and smiling sincerely. A flock of monkeys, the local forest dwellers, were jokingly and jubilantly hopping over lush branches. They seemed to know that the gebogan procession was a happy day filled with joy of sharing fruits.

It is the description of ritual procession for monkeys at Alas Kedaton tourist attraction, Kukuh, Marga, Tabanan, on Saniscara Kliwon Uye took place lively, Saturday (Jan. 20). It has become a tradition that every thanksgiving ritual of monkeys was filled with procession of ngrebeg gebogan (parade of fruit arrangement) as high as 2 meters. “We always carry out the procession every day Tumpek Kandang or Tumpek Uye,” said Secretary of Kukuh customary village, I Gusti Ngurah Pujayasa. ngerebeg di alas kedaton Pujayasa said that thanksgiving ritual at Alas Kedaton also becomes a moment to teach children to love animals. It happened because many residents came to witness the parade of fruit arrangement while taking their children, then gave food to the flock of monkeys. “The celebration of Tumpek Kandang is one of the applications of the Tri Hita Karana teachings in the matter of Palemahan or environmental aspect that maintains harmonious

relationship with animals.

Coordinator of Alas Kedaton attraction, Kukuh customary village with the management board of Alas Kedaton and merchant group regularly holds thanksgiving ritual for the monkeys. However, since one and a half year ago a new tradition of ngrebeg gebogan of two-meter high was held. “Tumpek Uye today is the third time for implementing gebogan parade. This serves as a form of our gratitude for the welfare graced by God. Expression of our gratitude to monkeys and fruit bats of Alas Kedaton through a parade can attract tourists,” said Pujayasa.

In this ceremony, the merchant group of Alas Kedaton also contributed 22 pieces of gebogan of small size. Both fruit gebogan offerings of the management board and merchant group of Alas Kedaton contain local fruits such as red guava, tomatoes, corn, carrots, bananas, rambutan, papaya, mango and beans.

Before the parade, it was commenced with thanksgiving ritual

in the middle courtyard of Alas Kedaton Temple. After that, it was resumed with praying together, and presented fruit gebogan before God Almighty. After the prayers, it was continued with parading the gebogan in the middle courtyard of Kahyangan Kedaton Temple and in the outermost courtyard.

Ultimately, the gebogan was placed in the outermost courtyard.

A flock of monkeys then approached and picked up the fruits presented by the people of Kukuh.

People coming with their children took the fruit and distributed it to the flock of monkeys. The fruits were directly invaded by monkeys.

They looked tame. After getting the fruits, the monkeys jumped into the tree, while another flock came forward to pick up the fruits.

The beautiful moments when people were besieged by monkeys became the target of camera of photographers, including tourists.

They were happy to capture the moment of tame monkeys at Alas Kedaton. (kmb)

THERE are many waterfall attractions in Bali. Some of them can be found in Bangli. There are Kuning waterfall at Tamanbali village, Pengibul waterfall and Tibumana waterfall at Apuan village, Susut and Kubusalya waterfall at Sukawana village, Kintamani.

Another one is no less beautiful, namely the Pingit waterfall located at Payuk hamlet, Peninjoan, Tembuku. Wow… simply come and enjoy the beauty and freshness of the air and water.

To get to the waterfall, visitors will take about 30 minutes from the town of Bangli. From the hamlet hall of Payuk, it is only two kilometers. Before reaching the location, the eyes will be spoiled by the pristine and natural beauty.

Cool atmosphere coupled with green trees will endlessly pamper the eyes.

Arriving at the waterfall, serene atmosphere is very pronounced. A thin stream of the water as high as nine meters wrapped in sunlight are fused with black rocks. At first glance, the splashing and rumbling water sounds rhythmically. It is capable of soothing our mind.

Having been traced, in fact the waterfall has a Pingit cave. Two caretakers of local customary youth club, I Gede Rikayana and Komang Payu Antayana, explained at the location that when coming into the cave, there are two caves inside.

The first cave spreads across the area of around 2 x 3 meters and the second one about 3 x 4 meters.

Besides, there are rocks like a place to mediate. Not only that, drops of water also fall directly on the rocks from cave ceiling. On that account, the water is called tirta pingit, believed to be a medicine.

In Balinese, Tirta means holy water.

“When coming into the cave, visitors will be welcomed by a swarm of bats,” he said.

5

Other than Tirta Pingit, chief of Payuk customary village, I Nyoman Mudita, explained that around the waterfall there are also Tirta Campuhan and Tirta Anakan Payuk.

Tirta Campuhan is commonly used to do malukat (purificatory rite) for newly pregnant women in order to get smooth childbirth.

Then, the Tirta Anakan Payuk is the forerunner of Payuk village. He told that there was a yogi meditating on a hill. At that time, there was a pot-size spring emerging in the middle of paddy field, so that it was called Tirta Anakan Payuk used to perform melasti by local customary village and neighboring villages. In addition, there are also eleven springs located not far from the waterfall. So far, only eight springs have been identified, such as the Tirta Dedari, Tirta Tingkih, Tirta Melanting, Tirta Anakan, Tirta Bulung, Tirta Ponggang, Tirta Celuk and Tirta Ngening. “Many springs are also found around the waterfall. They are all believed to have benefits,” he said.

The beauty of the waterfall can attract travelers to make a visit, especially on particular days like full moon, new moon and Banyupinaruh. For the time being, the management is entrusted to customary youth club. “The tourist arrival is quite a lot. They come from Bangli and outside the region,” said Mudita.

Amid an increasingly crowded visit, the waterfall has not been equipped with supporting facilities, such as locker room and restrooms.

Likewise, the pathway to location is still modest. Hopefully, this potential can get the attention from local government. Other than offering natural attractions, it can also be taken advantage for spiritual tourism. “If developed, this will be able to draw more visitors in the future,” said Mudita. (kmb)

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Bali News

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

Melasti procession on Watu Klotok Beach

Like a lamplight thronged by flying termites

MELASTI procession ahead of Nyepi Day has been implemented by a number of villages in Klungkung district. Watu Klotok Beach at Tojan village is one of the melasti destinations. Booming number of pilgrims is exploited by a number of residents to reap fortunes by selling food such as satay. Due to best selling, they are able to bring in profits up to hundreds of thousands in one sale.

The atmosphere of Watu Klotok Beach before the festival celebrated every year looked different. It is no longer empty but becomes the target of thousands of pilgrims coming from a number of villages. They should walk for miles to melasti.

Their legs stepped on shiny and black sand in the morning sun while lining up neatly and snaking off the highway. Some people bring the offerings, banners as well as a number of sanctified effigies including rangda and barong. They came down to the beach while breaking trough shallow waves. When pilgrims of various ages entered the temple, they experienced sacred atmosphere in harmony with the strains of dharma gita psalmody and gamelan music. Peaceful impression also appeared strong enough.

Amid such atmosphere, in the outermost temple courtyard was seen a middle-aged woman wearing twisted clothes on the head and taking charcoal in plastic bag. She put it into the roasting place of very small size. Then, it was lighted and then fanned to exude smoke. The embers appeared and then she took the satay hurriedly. After that, she

grilled it. Many people passing by also eyed on the satay. Some got interested to purchase along with ketupat (rice bag) whose skin was made from young coconut leaf.

She looked happy as being visible from her face welcoming the arrival of the fortune. That is the activity of Timbrah resident, Karangasem Sub-district, Ni Nyoman Kari. “I regularly peddle here every year,” she said on Wednesday (Mar. 14).

Such profession has been pursued since two years ago. Previously, she only relied on her livelihood as laborer. Her selling to Watu Klotok Beach starts at 06:30 local time and departs from home around 05:00.

She does not need to bring along so many tools. Her satay sold is different from the usual ones, the number was double. Surely, it happened because the arrival of residents is booming. “We make 30 kg of satay.

It is for skewing and twisted satay.

However, on normal days, we just make at least a half of it,” she said.

She sells satay until the beach is getting deserted. It is repeated again on the following day. When talking about profit, it’s quite promising. At least she can earn

IBP/sos

Booming number of pilgrims is exploited by a number of residents to reap fortunes by selling food such as satay.

IDR 500,000 however it highly depends on the situation. “When visitors are crowded, my earning can reach such a range of amount.

It’s better than keeping silent at home,” she said.

Not far from her place, under the hibiscus tree was seen another merchant namely I Wayan Wikan.

He is also from Timbrah. Her satay looked to be very much demanded and quite a lot of buyers were still waiting. Moreover, they had to wait and seize to get a seat. He was

busy serving. His tired sweat could be seen from his face beginning to wrinkle. “I have been familiar to selling here. Other than on melasti, I also do on Shivaratri,” he said.

The fortune earned is indeed uncertain. However, melasti has been considered to have become the source of his fortune. A portion of satay with ketupat is sold for IDR 10,000. It could even be more, depending on demand. “On crowded days like today, I will make more,” he said while busy

serving buyers.

What he does is not something new. It has become his daily bread and butter. The ceremony being identical with crowd visitors will be dropped in, not only in Klungkung, but also in Karangasem area. His measures are just like flying termite looking for lamplight. It is also pursued by many people selling different products. “Where there are temple festivals or rituals, we’ll be there for selling. There is always information about it,” he concluded. (sos)

Pandanus-weaving craftswomen taught keys to success

IBP/kmb

Pandanus leaf-weaving group at Tumbu village consists of 40 people, mostly housewives.

AMLAPURA - Pandanus-weaving craftswoman group at Tumbu village, Karangasem sub-district, gets additional knowledge especially for being a successful crafter.

Unmitigatedly, the trick to success was given by candidate of Bali governor, Wayan Koster, in a series of his interactive campaign in Karangasem on Wednesday (Mar. 14).

Pandanus leaf-weaving group at Tumbu village consists of 40 people, mostly housewives. The main product is pandanus mat. Besides, they also produce various modern crafts made from basic materials of dried pandanus leaves such as bags and hats. In terms of production, they are quite productive, but in terms of income they are still in the shadow of the collectors.

One of the craftswomen, Agung Sudanti, 50, said the group only does the production process, while the sales are assisted by collectors from outside the village. Pandanus mats are supplied to traditional markets throughout Bali, while the artistic crafts such as bags and hats are taken to Bona, Gianyar. At Bona, the handicraft products are processed again so that the price becomes multiplied. “Our bag is sold for IDR 25,000 each, but after finishing process at Bona it can be sold for IDR 500,000,” she said.

Agung Sudanti admitted that her group is currently constrained by finishing technology, while for others such as design has got assistance from local government. Due to technological constraints, the

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

profits obtained are still relatively small. “On average, we can get IDR 5,000 per product,” she said.

Koster stated the constraint has a way out. One thing that should be done by craftswomen is to form a group with legal entity and the most ideal is a cooperative. After having legal entities, it can get funding assistance from the government of Bali province. In addition, with the presence of cooperative, the needs of finishing technology can be realized.

“Marketing can be directly handled by the cooperative by contracting kiosks in tourist attractions.

Alternatively, the cooperative can directly help distribute the handicraft products to shops in tourist area,” he suggested. (kmb)

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Foes band together to challenge Modi in 2019 India elections

NEW DELHI - Small Indian parties are banding together against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for next year’s general election, energised by an unlikely win in an election for a handful of parliamentary seats in the Hindi heartland on Wednesday.

Opposition strategists say the only way Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) juggernaut can be stopped is to join forces and turn 2019 into a “Modi versus the rest” election.

That strategy seemed to have paid off when two bickering caste-based factions worked together in the country’s most politically important state, Uttar Pradesh in the north, to defeat Modi’s party in two seats this week.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief of an opposition party in eastern India, called the Uttar Pradesh results, and victory for a regional party in another seat in neighbouring Bihar state, the “beginning of the end” for Modi’s party.

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty’s Congress party, which ruled India for most of the seven decades after independence before being thumped by Modi in the last general election 2014, also seized on the latest setbacks for the BJP. “The results from the by-polls make it clear that voters are very angry at the BJP and that they will vote for that non-BJP candidate who has the best chance of winning,” said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Congress has started stitching together alliances and hosted a dinner for opposition parties this week. Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said it was ready to lead any alliance of regional groups and could discuss such plans in a party conference this weekend.

BJP leaders said they were caught off-guard by the alliance of the two regional parties, known as the BSP and SP in Uttar Pradesh.

“We will prepare for a situation in future when BSP, SP and Congress can come together, and also make our strategy for winning 2019 the election,” said the BJP’s deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya.

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File photo

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, India, January 29, 2018.

‘SELLING DREAMS’ There is nobody close to Modi in personal approval ratings.

Nearly nine out of 10 Indians hold a favourable opinion of him, according to a research report published in November, and opposition victories in a handful of seats cannot be seen as an indication the mood is swinging away from Modi and the BJP nationally, analysts warn. nL3N1NM1UX] When Modi won office in 2014 with the most resounding victory in three decades, his party or its partners ruled only seven of India’s

29 states.

Today, it is in power in 21 of them and has replaced Congress as the party with strongest nationwide presence.

But in by-elections in 10 parliamentary seats since last year, the BJP has lost all of them. That may be an indication an anti-incumbency factor will play a part in 2019.

Ghanshyam Tiwari, spokesman for the Samajwadi Party (SP)whose two candidates won this week’s Uttar Pradesh by-elections, said the BJP had been winning new states by “selling dreams” to voters through glitzy advertisements.

But people in states where the party had

been ruling for some time were becoming disillusioned, he said.

“Because of their poor governance model, people are forced to live in bad conditions.

So it’s reality versus what you are promised,” Tiwari said.

Although Modi has been able to maintain his popularity, the BJP’s ties with allies have been strained in recent months, and any more setbacks would likely raise new doubts.

“Modi’s appeal is formidable but his enemies and allies would now think he’s beatable,” veteran journalist and political commentator Shekhar Gupta said on Twitter. (rtr)

Nobel prize winner hospitalized, wife found deceased in Illinois

ILLINOIS - A Japanese Nobelwinning chemist was discovered wandering in rural Northern Illinois and his wife found dead nearby, some nine hours after they had been reported missing from their home 200 miles away, police said on Wednesday.

Nobel Prize winner Ei-ichi Negishi, 82, was transported to a local

Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via REUTERS/File Photo

hospital for treatment after he was spotted walking near Rockford, Illinois, at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department officials said in a written statement.

Deputies later found the couple’s car and the body of his wife, Sumire Negishi, at the nearby Ochard Hills Landfill, the sheriff’s department said. Rockford is about 100 miles

Ei-ichi Negishi of Japan (R) and his wife Sumire Negishi (2nd R) are surrounded by his family members as he displays his diploma and medal after winning the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry during the award ceremony at the Concert Hall in Stockholm December 10, 2010.

west of Chicago.

An autopy was pending on the body of Sumire Negishi but foul play was not suspected in her death, the sheriff’s department said. No information was released on the condition of Ei-Ichi Negishi.

The couple was reported missing to the Indiana State Police at about 8 p.m. central time on Monday.

They were last seen at their home in West Lafayette, near the Purdue University campus where Ei-Ichi is a professor of chemistry.

The scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2010. (rtr)

14

Friday, March 16, 2018

Culture

International

6,347 pieces of ogoh-ogoh paraded in Bali

Bali Police deploy 5,630 personnel IN order to secure Nyepi Day including the series of ceremonies, the Bali Police conducted security all out. For that purpose, police mobilize 5,630 personnel throughout Bali. Meanwhile, on the Pengerupukan, people will totally parade 6,347 pieces of ogohogoh on this Island of the Gods.

Technically, police prioritize preventive measures supported by

preemptive measures, intelligence and law enforcement.

Spokesperson of Bali Police, Hengky Widjaja, said on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that Bali Police will deploy 5,630 personnel to secure the ogoh-ogoh parade throughout Bali. The security is performed all out considering the celebration of Nyepi Day this year coincides with campaign of the simultaneous re-

gional leadership election to realize the safe and conducive situation.

“This security is assisted by approximately 22,000 customary security guards or pecalang throughout Bali along with other stakeholders,” said this former chief of Gianyar Police Criminal Investigation unit.

This graduate of 1993 batch Police Academy appealed to the

public that the ogoh-ogoh parade should not be colored with violence or crimes. He hoped that all Balinese people participate in maintaining security and orderliness in their respective hamlet with mutual respect among religious people.

The series of Nyepi festivities has been started on March 13, namely by melasti or purifica-

Bali News

International

tory ceremony. It ran until March 15, while on March 16, Balinese people perform Tawur Agung Kesanga and Pengerupukan ritual graced with the ogoh-ogoh parade.

On March 17, starting at six o’clock in the morning until the same time on March 18 is conducted the catur brata penyepian. After that, it is resumed with Ngembak Geni. (kmb36)

Banjar Kepisah, Sumerta Kelod village, East Denpasar.

3

Ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor prepares extra trips

AMLAPURA — Crossing traffic at Padangbai Harbor started to show an increase. This happens because Bali will carry out catur brata penyepian (four abstinences) this weekend. To anticipate crowded crossing ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor has prepared extra trips.

By the harbor closing on the Nyepi Day celebration on Saturday (Mar. 17), the crossing traffic at Padangbai Harbor has looked crowded. Crossing traffic remains to be dominated by freight trucks. Only a few private vehicles and motorbikes are seen crossing.

An official of the Center for Land Transportation Management for Region XII Bali, A.A. Gede Kemara Sudarma, explained on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that to anticipate the delayed passengers at the harbor due to missing the last ship, the harbor authority will provide extra trips. “Provision of the extra trips is meant to anticipate the delayed vehicles or passengers at the harbor due to missing the last ship,” he said.

Padangbai Harbor is ascertained to be closed for a total of 24 hours. To prevent any passengers left at the harbor, the last ship from Padangbai will be departed on Saturday (Mar. 17) around 03:00. However, the schedule, according to him, remains tentative depending on the condition of passengers or crossing traffic.

“If in fact the crossing traffic is very crowded, aside from the extra trips mentioned earlier, there is possibility to depart the last ship at 03:30. It is still possible as carried out in previous years,” he said.

Related to such condition, he appealed to prospective passengers that will use Padangbai-Lembar crossing service to leave early. This is meant to avoid overcrowded traffic density and long queues. Meanwhile, on Ngembak Geni or when the catur brata penyepian ends on Sunday morning (Mar. 18), the first ship departing from Lembar Harbor (Lombok) will arrive at Padangbai Harbor at 09:00.

As seen at Padangbai Harbor, until Wednesday (Mar. 14), the spike of passengers can still be overcome with normal crossing schedule. Surge of passengers is estimated to occur on Thursday and Friday.

One of the cabin crews of Magasena passenger ship when met at pier I of Padangbai Harbor also conveyed that passenger density ahead of Nyepi usually occurs on day two and day one. (kmb31)

To anticipate crowded crossing ahead of Nyepi, Padangbai Harbor has prepared extra trips.

Seka Teruna (ST) Dharma Pertiwi, Pecatu village, South Kuta.

IBP/kmb31

Evacuee handling done Ogoh-ogoh in Banjar Kedaton Kesiman.

Mount Agung disaster relief team dismissed

IBP/eka

IBP/eka

Paksi Ireng banjar gemeh, West Denpasar

Friday, March 16, 2018

Siddhi Sakti lan Tantra made by ST Mascitta Bhuwana in Banjar Kayumas Kaja, Dangin Puri, East Denpasar.

Banjar Gaduh in Sesetan village.

I Wayan Karmawan

IBP/kmb40

BANGLI — The Mount Agung Disaster Relief Team formed several months ago in Bangli has been agreed to be disbanded. Dissolution is carried out following the completion of evacuee handling in Bangli.

Head of the Bangli Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), I Wayan Karmawan, said on Wednesday (Mar. 14) that currently the Mt. Agung Disaster Relief Team has been revoked.

Furthermore, it just needs to wait for the completion of reporting on the use of logistics and funds for reporting to the regent. One of the considerations for the agreement to the dissolution of the team is the

homecoming of all the Karangasem residents that had fled to Bangli.

Karmawan said although the evacuees have gone home, the logistics aid received by the team from donors for all this time remain quite a lot. Unfortunately, he cannot detail the remaining logistics mentioned above.

He added the logistics approaching its expiry dates such as instant noodles, snacks, soy sauce and others will be sent to Karangasem.

Likewise, the perishable logistics like rice will be submitted to Karangasem as well. “According to the agreement, the team will be coordinating it to Karangasem Social Office so as it can be submitted for

refugees in Karangasem,” he said.

Meanwhile, the remaining logistics whose expiry date remaining to last long will be stored in anticipating the arrival of evacuees back to Bangli.

Karmawan expressed his gratitude to all parties such as donors, civil servants, Indonesian Military (TNI), national police, Indonesia Red Cross and other volunteers who have been helping the handling of evacuees in Bangli.

Due to the assistance so far, the handling of thousands of evacuees in Bangli could run smoothly and there were no evacuees in Bangli suffering from logistical shortages. (kmb40)

2

Bali News

Friday, March 16, 2018

International

482 flights to Bali will not operate during seclusion day

Wow, it is absolutely cool.

A bartender is not only good at blending delicious drinks, but also at juggling. He also dances with musical accompaniment.

Such an action becomes a spectacle drawing the interest of tourists at hotel. It is the ‘Best of The Best Bartender’ quest that will become a captain figure and dubbed as ‘Captain Mojito of the Year 2018 by Captain Morgan’ and this time was held at Graze Friday March 16 OGOH OGOH 15:00-16:30 Haha Yoga with Sandhi Kalifandi Jt Life Studio Jl. Sub Uma, Petula leah Ubud 19:00-23:00 Acoustic night feat Montana Plaza Renon Jl, Raya Puputan Reno, Denpsar A plane lands in Ngurah Rai INternational Airport.

IBP/file

Australia places order for ogoh-ogoh from Denpasar

The ogoh-ogoh seller is making the giat puppet.

IBP/wawan

DENPASAR - A craftsman of Ogoh-ogoh in Sesetan, Denpasar, admitted to have received extensive orders for making the effigies, including from Australia, before Seclusion Day, or Day of Silence, New Year Saka 1940. “The Hindu community in Australia has ordered Ogoh-ogoh for celebrating Seclusion Day. We designed the Ogohogoh that can be disassembled, so it can be easily sent to Australia,” Ogoh-ogoh handicraft entrepreneur of the “Gases Bali” studio Indra Wirawan stated here on Monday.

Wirawan noted that Indonesians from various regions, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Kalimantan, usually ordered Ogoh-ogoh via online shopping. “Some 20 workers

have been tasked with creating 175 Ogoh-ogoh in various shapes and sizes since the end of the previous year,” he noted. Due to the limited time and workforce, Wirawan declined to take some orders of Ogoh-ogoh.

“In the past, we always accepted orders without limit. However, now, we try to adjust the number of incoming orders with the ability of our workforce to maintain the quality of Ogoh-ogoh,” he remarked.

Ogoh-ogoh in the Gases studio is usually sold for some Rp500 thousand to Rp75 million per unit.

“The price depends on the material quality, size, and difficulty level of making Ogoh-ogoh. We sell at a price of Rp75 million, not

Friday, March 16, 2018

15

Captain Mojito of the Year 2018 by Captain Morgan Held in Maya Sanur Resort and Spa

DENPASAR - PT Angkasa Pura I I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, has stated that 482 domestic and international flight schedules will not operate on Saturday (March 17) as the airport would remain closed for 24 hours in honor of the Seclusion Day. “The airport closure has already been known to all the airlines in the world, and we have been coordinating intensively with the airlines,” General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Yanus Suprayogi, noted here on Wednesday.

Flights will not operate for 24 hours starting from Saturday (March 17) at 06.00 a.m. local time to Sunday (March 18) at 06.00 a.m. local time.

According to Suprayogi, the flights include 244 domestic and 238 international flights, with the most flight routes to Cengkareng in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Perth, and Surabaya.

Angkasa Pura I, in cooperation with Airnav Indonesia of Denpasar Branch, had announced the airport closure to airlines and airports around the world through the Notice to Airman (Notam) number A-0117/18.

The temporary suspension of flight operations refers to the Letter of the Director General of Air Transportation number AU / 2696 / DAU / 223168/1796/99 dated September 1, 1999, on Ngurah Rai Airport Operation in Denpasar on Seclusion Day. “The airlines have adjusted their schedule during the airport closing period,” he remarked.

Although the airport would remain closed for 24 hours, it would still operate during an emergency.

Meanwhile, on Seclusion Day, airport managers will have 368 personnel on standby at the airport to anticipate emergencies, such as emergency landing or medical evacuations.

“We are also supported by Airnav, Immigration, Customs, Port Health, Ngurah Rai Air Force, Ngurah Rai Air Area Police, airline, and ground handling,” he added. (ant)

Activities

International

including postage, for Australia,” he added. Meanwhile, Kadek Alit, an Ogoh-ogoh buyer, bought from Gases studio due to the limited time for making Ogoh-ogoh. “I just buy small Ogoh-ogoh for the children while the bigger one is still being created by the local people in Banjar,” he stated.

However, the sales of Ogohogoh in Badung, Bali, have decreased 10 days before Seclusion Day Catur Barata New Year Saka 1940. “The sales of Ogoh-ogoh have declined a bit as compared to the previous year. I believe God gives sustenance to everyone evenly,” Siluh Ayati, the shop owner of Ogoh-ogoh in Sempidi, added. (ant)

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15:00-22:00 Friday gnamen open jam 9 Angels Jalan Suwetra 32 Ubud 19:00-22:00 Leggong at Ulekan Bali 34 jl, Tegal Sari Canggu Denpasar SATURDAY MARCH 17 NYEPI HOLY DAY of four abstinences: no lighting fire or using light no work no entertainment no leaving the house Sunday March 18 10:00-18:30 Traditional Indonesian Dance Tribe JT Life Studio Jln. Sub Uma Petula leah Ubud 17:00-18:00 Island and Beach Clean-up Scuba Centar Asia Mushroom Beach Lembongan

Restaurant, Maya Sanur Resort & Spa, not long ago.

Resort Manager of Maya Sanur Resort & Spa, I Putu Eddo Arthawan, said the activity is a special attraction for in-house guests.

On that account, the contest is also important to be organized in Sanur, a peaceful village tourist area. “This bartender event is not only worthy to be held in Nusa Dua or Kuta tourist area, but also in Sanur. By that way, Sanur is not

only known as a tourist destination for the elderly, but also for young tourists,” he said.

Eddo added that holding such event is very necessary to develop Sanur tourism. Maya Sanur has a principle that it does not only put forward the hotel, but also the destination. “Such an event also serves as a form of promotion for Sanur. Therefore, we do not only hold this competition, but also cultural events like

holding a painting exhibition.

Maya Sanur has an opportunity specially prepared for local artists to express themselves,” he added.

The gallery will showcase the works of Balinese artists alternately in every one and a half months. “We are grateful as the tourists visit has improved after the eruption of Mount Agung.

This February and March period has been better than the same

period in the previous year,” he concluded.

Maya Sanur Resort & Spa is a sophisticated beachfront retreat with 103 well-appointed roomsand supporting facilities. Maya Sanur Resort & Spa explores the synergy between Balinese authenticity and contemporary design where uncompromising quality and environmental integrity create multi-sensory experiences. (kmb)

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

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

16 Pages Number 72 10th year

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Friday, March 16, 2018

Harper Lee estate sues Broadway’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ play ALABAMA - The estate of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee has sued the producer of an upcoming Broadway adaptation, arguing that writer Aaron Sorkin’s script deviates too much from the beloved novel about race relations in the Depression-era U.S. South.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Alabama asks a judge to resolve a contract dispute with producer Scott Rudin by giving the estate final say on whether Sorkin’s script departs from the spirit of the 1960 novel or alters its characters.

The estate’s representative, Tonja B. Carter, alleges that the script alters several characters, including protagonist Atticus Finch, who is portrayed as being initially naive to racism.

The script also “did not present a fair depiction of 1930s small-town Alabama” by tying it to today’s social climate, according to the suit.

Carter said Sorkin, an Oscar winner and the creator of Emmywinning TV series including the political drama “The West Wing,” added two characters to the script and told trade magazine Playbill that the book as written “doesn’t work at all” as a play.

The play is set to open in preview on Nov. 1 in New York and stars Jeff Daniels as Finch, a lawyer who defends a black man against a false rape charge in the racially charged 1930s South.

Representatives for Rudin and Sorkin did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The suit alleges Rudin ignored and resisted Carter, and that a February draft of the play “exacerbated her concerns,” according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

In response, an attorney for Rudin’s company, Rudinplay Inc, said in a letter to the estate that the company and not the estate had final say over the script, according to the lawsuit.

Rudin is a major Broadway and Hollywood producer, having won an Oscar and multiple Tony Awards, often earning honors for revivals of mid-century American theater.

Lee died in 2016 at age 89.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was met with high praise on its publication, winning the Pulitzer Prize and earning Gregory Peck an Academy Award for best actor in the acclaimed 1962 screen adaptation. (rtr)

REUTERS/Larry Downing/Files

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) before awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to American novelist Harper Lee (L) in the East Room of the White House, in this November 5, 2007, file photo.

Who will get the nod to design Meghan’s dress for UK royal wedding?

LONDON - For the fashion world, when American actress Meghan Markle joins the British royal family in less than two months’ time when she marries Prince Harry, there is only one issue that matters - who will design her wedding gown?

British newspapers have been rife with rumours that she has chosen the dress and already attended her first fitting, although royal officials are keeping such details a tightly guarded secret.

“We have not put out a statement, nor commented on the wedding dress,” a spokeswoman for Harry’s office said. The choice of wedding gown designer has prompted much speculation in newspapers and magazines ever since Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, and Markle, 36, announced their engagement last November.

“I think she’ll definitely wear a UK designer,” Bojana Sentaler, founder and creative director of Canadian label Sentaler, told Reuters. “I’m not sure which one but I think it’ll be a UK designer.”

One of those whose name has been suggested is Stella McCartney, who was behind British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney’s cream-coloured trouser suit for her civil marriage ceremony to U.S. actor George Clooney, as well as the coat Markle wore on a visit to Cardiff earlier this year.

“A wedding is a wedding, it’s a beautiful honour and privilege to do anyone’s wedding dress,” a smiling McCartney told Reuters when asked

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Cardboard facemasks of Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle are seen for sale at a kiosk in central London, March 14, 2018. if she would like to design Markle’s outfit.

“I’ve always loved working on wedding dresses and they’re always varied because you have to be really personal about it, you have to really look at the woman and the day,” said McCartney, who shares Markle’s ethical design and animal cruelty-free stance. British-Australian brand Ralph & Russo is another that has been mentioned a possible contender for the job after Markle chose a dress made by the duo for her official engagement portraits with Harry.

That dress, and the location of the wedding, Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle home to the west of London, might also serve as a good indication of what’s to be expected, said Anna McGregor, curator of the London

luxury wedding department store, The Wedding Gallery.

“Well, you always have to think about the venue because the dress has to be appropriate for the venue that you’re getting married in and of course she’s getting married in the chapel at Windsor. So you need to find something that’s going to work for that location,” she said.

“I think that the Ralph & Russo she wore for the engagement shoot was such a perfect look on her.”

For fashion brands, having apparel seen on a member of Britain’s royal family can lead to a spike in sales.

Prince William’s wife Kate has become a fashion icon since she married Harry’s elder brother in 2011, with huge interest in her choice of outfits for official engagements. (rtr)

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Bali’s New Year’s Day

IBP/file

Last year’s Nyepi celebration in Bali.

Time to stay in, turn off the lights, and keep quiet

DENPASAR - The largely Hindu Indonesian island celebrates Nyepi – Silent Day – by completely shutting down for 24 hours. In Ubud, where I’m staying, shops are closing early, ATMs aren’t working and streets are being closed. From 6am tomorrow (28 March) until 6am on Wednesday (the date changes annually following the lunar calendar), no one will leave their home. Religious rules state there should be no traffic, no fire, no work and no pleasure. Streets are eerily empty, shops and restaurants remain closed, the beaches are shut, use of electricity is kept to a minimum, there’s no transport – even the airport closes – and the pecalang community police go on patrol, ensuring compliance and reprimanding anyone who steps outside their premises.

“It’s a day for contemplation, to meditate, to fast, to go inside yourself and reflect on the past year,” says John Sugiharto, a sound healer and owner of Soma cafe in Ubud.

“People stay quietly with their families, it’s a very special day.”

Silent Day follows on from raucous New Year’s Eve celebrations, held to chase away malevolent forces. There’s a sense of

excitement in the air and in Ubud and the surrounding villages I’ve seen people crafting huge, ugly ogoh-ogoh papier mache effigies, with bulging eyes, fangs and hairy backs representing evil spirits.

Each neighbourhood works on their own grotesque creations, which are paraded through the streets, accompanied by traditional gamelan bands and drumming, and burnt

to much jubilation. “It symbolises burning your own demons as well chasing bad spirits away,” says Sugiharto.

New Year rituals start three days before Nyepi, with Melasti purification ceremonies on beaches.

Every village makes a pilgrimage to the coast, taking sacred temple objects for cleansing and blessings.

I joined thousands of villagers

dressed in white at Purnama beach about half an hour outside of Ubud as they gathered to make offerings.

Festivities continue for two days after Nyepi too, with visits to friends and family to ask for forgiveness and temple ceremonies.

If you’re visiting Bali at the time of Nyepi, hotel restaurants and other facilities are usually open, often with a more basic menu, but you won’t be able to leave your accommodation and no one can check-in.

If you’re in a private villa you’ll be expected to keep the noise down and lights off, even if you choose not to observe total silence. The Balinese have countless festivals and ceremonies year-round, but Nyepi is a particularly interesting

time to visit – a new year unlike any other.

No Internet Bali has asked phone companies to turn off mobile internet to celebrate New Year, which falls locally on Saturday.Mobile internet will be shut down to mark Nyepi, a Hindu holiday on the Indonesian island.

Continued to page 6 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.