Edition Friday, May 18, 2018 | Internasional Bali Post

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

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Friday, May 18, 2018

Romancing the maid: Indian film tackles taboo As a child, Rohena Gera never understood why her family’s live-in nanny, the “woman she loved like a second mother” was kept at arm’s length by her Indian family. “I didn’t understand why this person who took care of me, who I loved... was so separate.” In a country where millions of servants sleep on the floor of the homes they work in, the idea that a “master” might fall for the meek low-caste woman who is there to cook and scrub for him seemed “inconceivable”, she said.

But that is the premise of Gera’s new film, “Sir”, an upstairsdownstairs love story of a kind she says has never been seen in an Indian movie. That the maid is a widow -- whose lives can be severely circumscribed in India -- adds another layer of taboo to the tenderly told tale which premiered at the Cannes film festival Monday.

Young property developer Ashwin and his maid Ratna may live “under the same roof but they are in completely different worlds,” said Gera. “They do not even speak the same language,” with him coming from the English-speaking Mumbai elite and her a poor villager. Even if by some miracle he married her, his family and friends might object to sharing a table with her.

Nor would she “be able to sit on a sofa

with his sister”, Gera told AFP. - Class and caste system “Indian society is pretty rigid. It not so much the caste system as class these days which plays out as caste... And we accept it. No one is doing anything actively to challenge it.” The director saw the divide more starkly when she returned from college in the US. “You see these dramatic inequalities but I didn’t know what to do about it.

“I couldn’t be holier than thou because I am part of the problem,” Gera admitted. So rather than making “some preachy story or tell people what to think”, instead she spun a subtly revealing study of thwarted love. It is more Bergman than Bollywood, but as Gera joked, “it does have two dance numbers”. “As you get older, you begin to realise how love operates, how we allow ourselves to love who we love,” said the filmmaker, whose documentary “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was about arranged marriages.

“They are both victims in a way. He is in his gilded cage of privilege but he can’t live his dreams.” Ratna the maid, played by rising star Tillotama Shome, is in some ways freer than him, Gera claimed, fired by a fierce determination to make the best of her circumstances. “People not familiar with India might think, ‘Oh my god, she sleeps on the floor in this little tiny room,” but in Indian terms she is in a relatively privileged situation for a maid, the director insisted.

- ‘Widows seen as cursed’ “She is earning money and she has her dreams. She is not judging where she sleeps. It is not so different to what happened in England and Europe a few generations ago.” Following those dreams as a widow sets her apart in a country where patriarchal attitudes have become more entrenched under the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Widows are still seen as cursed or bringers of bad luck by some, Gera said. “They are denied a lot of joy and from wearing certain colours... Even in the supposedly progressive cities I have friends whose mothers lost their husbands in their forties and they never really moved on. You can’t date in India if you are a widow and you have a child.

“For a widow to have desire is seen as preposterous.” “I don’t know how people will take that,” said Gera, who hopes the film will be seen widely in India. “I think it will make some people extremely uncomfortable, which isn’t a bad thing. But I think it will give others hope,” she said.

But in the film Ratna -- who has been brought up to be docile and deferential, anticipating her employer’s every whim -- manages not just to free herself but also her master, without losing her dignity.

The film was warmly received by critics, with The Guardian calling it a “delicately observed and attractive drama with some great Mumbai cityscapes and an excellent performance from Shome”.

The French press was equally smitten by the actress best known for “Monsoon Wedding”.

With two Indian women directors selected for Cannes for the first time ever this year, Indian indie cinema seems to be on the up. “It is a good year for Indian women at a very bad time for Indian women,” Gera said dryly. “Our voices need to be heard.” (afp)

Black actresses brave downpour to protest at Cannes CANNES - Sixteen black and mixed race actresses staged a glamorous red carpet protest at the Cannes film festival Wednesday to denounce everyday racism in the French industry.

Led by “Bamako” star Aissa Maiga, they also launched their new book “Being black is not my job” (“Noire n’est pas mon me-

tier”), denouncing the prejudice they have suffered from directors and casting agents.

But the heavens opened as they stepped out onto the red carpet from their cars wearing spectacular gowns by Balmain’s mixed-race designer Olivier Rousteing.

Their march follows hot on the heels of an historic red carpet

demonstration Saturday by 82 Hollywood stars, women directors, producers and scriptwriters, led by Cate Blanchett, demanding equal pay and status.

“I was moved to act by the spirit of the times,” Maiga told AFP, who said quotas “could be a possible option” for combatting the lack of black faces on screen, even if that

would spark vehement opposition in France.

One of the actors who took part, Nadege Beausson-Diagne, said in the book that she had been asked if she spoke “African” at a casting.

She was also told, “You can’t play her, she’s a lawyer” and “Luckily you have fine features and you are not negroid, not too

black...”

The actress, who appeared in France’s biggest ever film at the box office, “Welcome to the Sticks” (“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”), said she was also told she was “not African enough to be African” and that “for a black, you are really very intelligent. You should have been white.” (afp)

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Friday, May 18, 2018

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Atletico Madrid’s French forward Antoine Griezmann (C) celebrates with the trophy with his family, (from L-R) his brother Théo Grizemann, his wife Erika Choperana, his baby Mia Griezmann, his father Alain Griezmann and his mother Isabelle Lopes, after the UEFA Europa League final football match between Olympique de Marseille and Club Atletico de Madrid at the Parc OL stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon on May 16, 2018.

Griezmann fires Atletico Madrid to Europa League title

LYON - Antoine Griezmann was the hero for Atletico Madrid as the French striker scored twice in their 3-0 win over Marseille in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Lyon, allowing his club to win the trophy for the third time in nine seasons.

It is Griezmann’s first major title with Atletico, and a fitting way to bow out if he leaves at the season’s end, with Barcelona tipped as his next destination.

Griezmann -- brought up in Macon, just 70 kilometres from Lyon -- scored once in each half, his lethal finishes coming either side of Marseille losing Dimitri Payet to injury, the French team’s captain coming off in tears.

Griezmann now has 29 goals

this season, although it was Gabi’s late strike that sealed the victory.

“This is a reward for me after I left home aged 14, for all the work I have put in, the suffering,” said Griezmann, who has spent his whole career in Spain but had only previously won one Spanish Super Cup. Atletico’s triumph comes after agonising defeats to Real Madrid in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016. They had previ-

ously won the Europa League in 2010 and again in 2012, the latter coming just six months after Diego Simeone’s appointment as coach.

Simeone, who had to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban, called the victory a reward for his side’s hard work and even expressed hope that Griezmann could be convinced to stay.

“This was just confirmation of what Griezmann has been doing year after year,” said the Argentine.

“I hope he is happy with us. I have no doubt that there are certain things that could make it more likely that he stays.

“He has played three finals with

us, has won two, and so that shows that he is not far away from his objective of regularly playing finals.

“We are not far away in sporting terms from teams who are more powerful than us.”

Marseille had been desperate to win the second European trophy in their history, on French soil, 25 years after beating AC Milan in the inaugural Champions League final.

But it was a flat night for their huge support, who threatened to ruin the occasion by lighting flares and setting off firecrackers at one end of the stadium, with some even being thrown onto the pitch towards the end. The game carried

on regardless, with Rudi Garcia’s side well beaten.

“We let our chance go in the first half. Firstly, we had the best chance to go ahead, and secondly an error from us meant we fell behind,” said Garcia.

“The scoreline is harsh but the better team won.” (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

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Bali News

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Activities

International

Cremation of Grandpa Jegog accompanied with Jegog gamelan

THE artist having contributed to Jegog art from Sangkaragung village, Jembrana, I Ketut Suwentra (Grandpa Jegog) passed away. The death of the friendly person known to be eccentric is not only the grief of the family, but also the people of Jembrana as well as the artists at home and overseas.

During his lifetime, Suwentra consistently developed the Jegog art to become the pride of the people of Jembrana and Bali. The love of this Makepung Dance choreographer to Jegog is evidenced by the establishment of Suar Agung Foundation having given birth to the Jegog gamelan players up to seven generations.

This Jegog maestro left a message to his children and all the artists to keep Jegog reverberating.

Until the end of his life to his cremation at Sangkaragung cemetery on Wednesday (May 16), Jegog gamelan also came along until the cremation procession was completed. The Jegog musical accompaniment presenting the Sidakarya composition of Grandpa Jegog was presented by the generations he taught. In addition to Jegog gamelan, Putri Bamboo Dance was also performed by the mourners from various regions in Bali and overseas.

“This (jegog accompaniment) is spontaneous and indeed his request when consulting to his soul through a medium. He also asked to include his cowboy hat and favorite glasses,” said I Gede Oka Artha Negara, Suwen-

tra’s first son when met on the sidelines of the cremation.

One thing repeatedly submitted to Oka is that the Jegog should be preserved especially by the Suar Agung Foundation. Therefore, Artha Negara currently working in the United States continues his father’s talent, desiring to return to his homeland. Among the five sons of Suwentra, Oka Artha Negara has the most outstanding talent and has composed and performed the dance for several times.

This father of two children currently taking a doctorate (PhD) program at the University of California recognized the figure of his father as well as the friends of Suwentra.

The most memorable moment is while creating the Tiying Sangkep Dance. Through the dance depicting the leadership becoming a role model and giving the commander sticks, he feels to get united with his father. “He wants to preserve the Jegog pursuant to his best so that the whole world knows,” added Oka accompanied by his younger brother, Komang Wisnu Wardana.

Suwentra or better known as Grandpa Jegog died on Thursday (May 10) at Sanglah Hospital. His body arrived at his home at Sangkaragung village on Saturday (May 12). While being laid down, a number of friends, guests and officials in Bali attended the final tribute to this Jegog maestro. The artist born in Jembrana on December 12, 1948 died of lung cancer. Other than taking part in Jegog art creativity, he is also a lecturer at Nagoya College of Music. (olo)

IBP/olo

Jegog gamelan also came along until the cremation procession was completed.

Increase of dollar has no impact on crafters in Bali

Export lethargic due to weak competitiveness

DENPASAR - The increase in dollar does not affect the entrepreneurs of handicraft products such as woven fabrics. Moreover, the raw materials belong to domestic product. This is recognized by several textile entrepreneurs in Bali.

However, the exports of products from Bali are still sluggish due to weak competitiveness of the entrepreneurs.

One of the owners of the Bali

Tarum textile industry, I Made Andika Putra, admitted to having no problem with the rise of the dollar. Its raw materials are purchased by using rupiah and remain to be produced in the country.

The marketing has now been getting better because many tourists come directly to his location to buy clothes. What he fears is the bomb incidents in Surabaya.

“Hopefully, it will not have bad

IBP/kmb

Bali Representative Office of Bank Indonesia, Causa Iman Karana.

impact on Bali,” he said.

All the orders of the Bali Tarum products come from foreign countries such as Europe, America, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Japan, California, Africa, Singapore and Malaysia.

Another weaving business owner, Ketut Wiadnyana, also expressed the same thing. “There is indeed a decline but not too problematic because we always innovate in the product. On that account, the weaving cloth lovers (market segmentation) are still hunting for quality, limited, and innovating products like songket, natural batik of Jembrana and songket without connection (songket of Negara) in which we have patented the motif through IPR (intellectual property rights),” he explained.

According to him, the craftsmen with the local market segment will not experience any problems with the dollar increase. As evidence, last week he participated in the exhibition to bring along the songket of Jembrana and it remained to draw many enthusiasts. “Probably, the problem may arise in the matter of raw material like yarn whose

price will rise,” he added.

Most of the orders received

by Putrimas come from domestic consumers. However, there are also from overseas such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Sluggish exports of the products from Bali, according to the Head of the Bali Industry and Trade Agency, Putu Astawa, happens because the competitiveness of Bali entrepreneurs is weak. Based on the statistical data, in the first quarter of 2018 the export rose as much as 13.71 percent (yoy). It increased, however, in non-significant number as Bali’s import increased in the first quarter of 2018 amounting to 180.36 percent (yoy).

According to the data from the Bali Industry and Trade Agency, the export of Bali in 2017 rose 18.34 percent. This increase is lower than the export in 2016 that rose 19.29 percent at that time.

The exports were dominated by agricultural commodities by 55.17 percent, the second largest was craft (25.43 percent), industrial outputs (18.78 percent) and plantation yield (0.33 percent).

In addition to weak competitive-

ness, the market penetration ability to other countries and maintenance of the existing markets are not optimal. Market penetration is not optimal because of limited funding support. Therefore, the promotion should be intensified.

He said the rise of dollar has an impact on the entrepreneurs whose raw materials are imported. “The companies that do not import raw materials are surely profitable,” he concluded.

Indeed, the complaints on raw material are often conveyed by the artisans. The government also has a KITE (ease of import for export destination) to facilitate entrepreneurs in getting raw materials.

However, the difficulty of raw material is not only experienced by entrepreneurs to get raw materials from overseas but also in the country.

Head of the Bali Representative Office of Bank Indonesia, Causa Iman Karana, doubted if the dollar’s rise is detrimental to Balinese businessmen. According to him, those who are not benefited are the importers. “Probably, the exporters are more benefited,” he concluded. (kmb24)

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Friday, May 18, 2018

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Fashion

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Bali News

International

In wartime Yemen, artisans keep up the shine on gemstones

Her fingers bleed from beneath the nail beds, but sitting at her workstation, filing Yemeni gemstones on a spinning wheel, Safaa al-Faqih is at peace in a country for too long at war. In green canvas trainers and a black niqab, the young artisan -- one of the few Yemeni women in her field -- runs a blue Yemeni agate through a hot flame, turning it slowly with her bare hands as she fits it into a mold.

“Every day, these stones tell me a different story,” Faqih told AFP. “I discover something new every day.” While the stone is still hot, she gathers her long black abaya and moves to a grinding wheel, where she runs her finger over the deep blue edges every second to feel for their smoothness.

The stone slowly morphs from an uneven sphere to a perfectly symmetrical emerald-cut agate that gleams in the light. “I love this craft,” the young, brown-eyed artisan said. “Some- t i m e s m y fingers are all cut, and sometimes I get sick.

“But I love sitting among precious stones. I love the stones themselves. It’s a true passion for me.”

That passion is part of a long love story between Yemen and precious stones. What is today modern Yemen was once home to the legendary Queen of Sheba, and it was there that she found her famed jewels and gold, which she later gifted to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Thousands of years later, war threatens to erase that history.

- Yemeni agate -

Yemen’s rich cultural scene is slowly being eroded by a brutal war, with the historic town of Zabid, the old city of Sanaa and the old walled city of Shibam, known as the “Manhattan of the Desert”, now on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list. Yemeni agate -- or “aqeeq” in the local dialect -- is a trademark of the traditional silver jewellery the country is famed for, adorning rings, necklaces, women’s bracelets and, for men, curved daggers worn tucked into a belt.

The traditional Yemeni men’s dagger, or jambiyya, has for decades been embellished with locally-quarried agate. The stone carries particular significance among Muslim communities, as the Prophet Mohammed is said to have worn a silver ring bearing the stone, which is hard, chemicalresistant a n d

takes on different shades around the world.

Yemen also has a tradition of jewellery-making that dates back hundreds -- some historians even say thousands -- of years, joining both the country’s Muslim communities and the minority Jewish population, known for their craftsmanship.

Until the war brought the country’s rich crafts industry to a halt, Sanaa in particular was famed for its silversmiths and embroidery artisans creating Yemen’s trademark shawls.

In 2015, the country’s northern Huthi rebels -- who today control the capital, Sanaa, unchallenged -- drove the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi south, prompting the intervention of a regional military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

Just a quarter of artisans are still working in Sanaa’s old market, where the majority of gemstones were sold, and the men who previously dominated the industry have mostly gone in search of other work. Faqih has lost most of her clients, who are unable to afford gemstones in wartime, and now sells her wares to a few family members or neighbours.

left. The artisan credits her father for encouraging her to fight for a place in her field. In 2011, Faqih and a few of her peers pushed for women to be allowed into the maledominated government vocational school. They succeeded, and joined the graduating class of that year.

“There was some opposition, from men especially, that I do this job. My parents were supportive, though,” she said. “I went on because I love this. I love this craft.

That’s the truth.”

Inundated by water of Lake Buyan

Farmers suffer losses worth IDR 1.7 billion

The Yemen war has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the government’s war against the Iran-backed Huthis. The conflict has triggered what the United Nations says is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Millions are trapped in a country at the brink of famine, as ports remain blockaded and the country’s main international airport is largely shut down. (afp)

SINGARAJA - The overflowing water of Lake Buyan, Pancasari village, Sukasada, has long soaked dozens of hectares of local farmland. The natural phenomenon has caused losses of up to billions of rupiahs. Responding to the phenomenon, district government is going to disburse the assistance of seeds.

IBP/kmb23

The garbage problem in South Kuta is indeed endless.

Residents protest against garbage piles at Gang Kencana Jimbaran

- Love of the craft -

It is in Sanaa that Faqih first learned her craft and where she continues to practice, creating pieces to meet whatever demand is

IBP/net

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Friday, May 18, 2018

MANGUPURA - The garbage problem in South Kuta is indeed endless. Due to garbage, a number of residents even did protest action as it exudes stench around their location. In fact, the stench originates from the accumulated garbage disposed in one of the residents’ land at Gang Kencana, Jalan Karangmas Sejahtera Jimbaran.

Protest of the residents was made through a letter of objection signed by several residents submitted to the South Kuta subdistrict head on Wednesday (May 16). The residents were accepted by Section Head of South Kuta Peace and Order, Made Subamia, marked by signing a kind of petition.

According to a representative of the residents when met at South Kuta subdistrict head office, Nyoman Suati, the condition has been going on since last January. The garbage disposal is done in one of the lands owned by the local resident with the initials WSL. In addition to their family’s garbage, WSL also has asked one of the garbage companies to dispose of garbage onto the land belonging to his families.

Trough the letter, the residents liv-

ing at Gang Kencana Jimbaran asked for help to the subdistrict government to resolve the problem of waste disposal at Karang Mas Sejahtera housing complex at Gang Kencana Jimbaran. “Since the location on the roadside, it is not very good to see and its smells are very disturbing.

There are residents that should burn incense stick every day to eliminate the garbage smell. Moreover, during dry season the smells are very disturbing,” said Suati.

Headman of Jimbaran, Ketut Rimbawan, when asked for his confirmation justified the garbage problem. His authority has tried to mediate by summoning WSL as the land owner. However, the concerned was not present. In addition, he also asked local hamlet to approach the landowner to continuously work on resolving the problem.

Meanwhile, Section Head of South Kuta Peace and Order, Made Subamia, said his section would immediately follow up the complaints of residents by coming down to the location. In addition, it will also coordinate it with the headman of Jimbaran who had handled the problem. (kmb23)

Based on the observation on Wednesday (May 16), the water of the lake adjacent to Lake Tamblingan, Banjar subdistrict, was still soaking the farmland at Buyan and Dasong hamlet. Absolutely no farmers are on the move. Their cultivated land previously planted with vegetables and strawberries have been overgrown with bushes. Besides, the water also still inundates some residents’ settlements, but it is not so serious.

A local farmer, Luh Sutami, said the lake water has started to recede since two weeks ago. However, such condition is unable to make them relief. “Since it does not rain for some days, the water indeed slightly recedes, but only a little bit,” she said.

The phenomenon that also occurred last year has caused farmers to dither. They must still pay land lease though getting no harvest yields. “Many farmers lease farmland but now they fail to harvest,” she said.

Faced with such conditions, farmers cannot do much. Their income only relies on the non-submerged land that is not too broad. “Now, we can only wait. If recedes, we should plant again,” she added.

The dropped vegetable harvests have an impact on the supply to Pancasari Market. It decreased to trigger the spike in prices. Fortunately, not long ago

Lake Buyan

there were supplies from Candikuning village, Baturiti, Tabanan. “Now, more vegetables are brought in from Candikuning. Usually, they were supplied by farmers here (around Lake Buyan—Ed),” said a local merchant, Luh Arini.

She said the minimal supply just happened to strawberry. The price reached IDR 45,000 per kilogram, increasing from the previous price at IDR 22,000.

“Usually, we got 20 kilograms from farmers each day.

But now, we only get 2 kilograms, while the quality is not good,” she said.

Division Head of Horticulture at the Buleleng Agriculture Agency, I Gede Subudi, said that according to the results of data collection, the submerged land reached 18 hectares. In details, they consist of 12 hectares of strawberry, 3 hectares of vegetables, 2 hectares of tomatoes as well as peppers and chili of respectively half a hectare. The total loss reaches IDR 1,752,000,000. “This is located at Dasong and Buyan hamlet,” he said.

This official from Busungbiu said the district government has allocated the assistance of seeds valued at IDR 23,400,000. However, it is limited to strawberry on the grounds as a prominent commodity. “It has been allocated in the parent budget of this year. Meanwhile, the other seeds, such as vegetables, can still be attempted by farmers,” he explained.

He also stated that affected farmlands belong to 44 farmers. Distribution of the assistance will be commenced with verification. “Later on, farmers will be collected first,” he concluded. (kmb45)

IBP/kmb45

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Bali News

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Countries issuing travel advice grow

IBP/kmb

Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra

DENPASAR - Following the terrorist actions occurred in a number of churches and Surabaya Police Headquarters few days ago, some countries reacted by issuing travel advice to their citizens wishing to visit Indonesia. The countries having issued travel advice are UK, Australia, the United States, Singapore, Ireland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Poland, Canada, France and the Philippines. The tourism businesspeople in Bali particularly the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Denpasar City also condemned the Surabaya bombing terror that killed dozens of people and injured several others. Chairman of PHRI Denpasar, Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra, who is familiarly called Gusde, in the regular meeting with the PHRI board of Denpasar on Wednesday (May 16), stated that tourism players belonging to the PHRI Denpasar condemned the barbaric action without humanity sense and said condolence to families of the victims.

He is also worried about the impact of the terrorist acts that will affect tourist visits to Bali. To that end, the security and comfort of destinations in Bali should be improved. He said the increase in security is meant to prevent similar action from happening on the Island of Bali becoming a favorite destination of foreign and domestic tourists. “It’s meant to prevent from spreading to Bali as it has very bad consequences. Bali had experienced it (Bali bombing) in 2002 and 2005.

Tourism has become a generating power to economic development for the people of Bali so the security must be maintained together,” he said.

Until now, Gusde asserted there has been no cancellation of tourist visits to the Island of the Gods. Today, particularly in Denpasar City the hotel occupancy rate reaches around 65 percent. He hoped all parties can work together to maintain the security and comfort of this island. It is meant to maintain the positive tourist visit growth considering in the first quarter of 2018 after the eruption of Mount Agung the tourist arrivals to Bali began to recover.

Although the destinations in the city of Denpasar remain safe to be vis-

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Police search scandal-tainted Malaysian ex-premier’s home

PHRI asks its members to tighten supervision

ited by tourists, Gusde said the PHRI Denpasar City has taken several steps in maintaining the security. Among them, it supports National Police and Indonesian Military in eradicating terrorism in Indonesia. Internally, he acknowledged the PHRI Denpasar has also appealed to its members to maintain awareness of the surrounding environment cooperation with local security authorities such as the nearest police station. If there are any suspicious things, they should be reported to police. Tourism businesspeople, government and society must also work together by becoming a public relation that convey a convincing information to prospective tourists that Bali stays safe and comfortable to visit, especially the city of Denpasar.

“Increase the awareness and security by checking and patrolling in each hotel area and remain friendly and courteous in reprimanding guests.

Besides, it needs to regularly check the existing security system and tools so that they can be optimized. Alert security guard at each access to the entrance gate into the hotel area,” explained Gusde.

He suggested to always keeping an eye on cars and motorcycles entering the hotel area. Supervision in the entry area of ring 1 should use a gate detector or metal detector. Additionally, regular patrolling throughout the area should be intensified and make sure the identity or passport of guests upon check-in and may not result in fear for guests. According to him, reprimanding or greeting guests with courtesy and friendliness remains to become a priority of hotel security officers in carrying out their tasks.

“We can also do analysis. For example, it can be done based on the estimated arrivals when guests make a reservation and do checking to hotel vendors that usually use a box vehicle,” said Gusde.

Furthermore, his association asked hoteliers in Denpasar, especially in Sanur, to be more vigilant and keep doing the SOP of security. For example, hotels may not ignore the checking at hotel entry point gates. If the hotel is located in an open area or has a beach area, the security checks are still enforced by activating metal detector.

In addition, they are prohibited from using fireworks and should optimize the installation of CCTV to improve surveillance so that all suspicious activities can be monitored. Besides, the security team should do security tasks more intensively. He will also make coordination with all parties including carrying out instructions from the National Police, Indonesian Military, chief of customary village and headmen to check the migrant population, and the boarding house owners should be more vigilant for 2x24 hours and must report when there are guests. (kmb42)

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police searched the home of scandal-tainted former premier Najib Razak on Thursday as the new government probes a massive graft scandal after sweeping to power in historic elections.

IBP/kmb26

Inspection and security at the entrance of Bali is not only done by police but also by Indonesian Military (TNI).

After bomb terror, TNI backs up security at Gilimanuk Harbor

NEGARA - After a series of bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, relevant apparatuses tightened security at the harbor. Inspection and security at the entrance of Bali is not only done by police but also by Indonesian Military (TNI). The joint assembly of the TNI and National Police personnel in the Gilimanuk Harbor was held on Tuesday afternoon (May 15).

The assembly attended by Commander of the 1617/Jembrana Military District Djefri Marsono Hanok, Jembrana Police Chief Budi Perdamaean Saragih and 741 Mechanical Battalion Commander Rudy Markiano Simangunsong and 1617-03/Melaya Military Region Commander Adwan, Naval Post Commander Agus and Gilimanuk Harbor Police Chief I Nyoman Subawa.

Commander of the 1617/Jembrana Military District, Djefri Marsono Hanok, in the joint assembly delivered that Gilimanuk Harbor is one of the entrances of Bali. On that account, we should apply strict security especially related to the occurrence of a series of suicide bombing in East Java and other regions.

Security activities and supervision carried out by the TNI is a back up against the National Police in implementing security tasks.

The TNI strengthened its security with the addition of four members from the naval post, one member of the IX/3-2 Jembrana Sub-Detachment of Military Po-

lice, from 1617/Jembrana Military District Command with five members and Mechanical Division of 741/GN Infantry Battalion as many as 10 people.

“We secure every inch of Bali Island, so to the armed personnel of the Indonesian Military and National Police are expected to be more observant and vigilant in helping supervise and be able to escort our colleagues inspecting the goods and letters both passengers in the vehicles,” said the Military District Commander.

Jembrana Police Chief, Budi Perdamaean Saragih, asserted that security in the Gilimanuk Harbor is always able to synergize with the Indonesian Military so that the implementation of security can always run well and compactly.

Previously, Jembrana Police Chief stated that in order to maintain the stability of security after the occurrence of a series of bomb terror actions in East Java, security officers from the police ranks in Jembrana district added security as many as 50 personnel

to be alerted.

In Gilimanuk Harbor area covering Post I and Post II, the Jembrana Police increased security personnel at Gilimanuk Harbor from 23 personnel to 27 personnel. The security is also backed up by ten mobile brigade personnel equipped with long-barrel gun from Bali Police Mobile Brigade Unit of Battalion C in Gilimanuk. “The increased personnel are carried out with enhanced security. We are watching the entrance to the Island of Bali,” he explained.

In addition to the headquarters and Gilimanuk Harbor, other vital objects such as places of worship as well as other places becoming the target of terrorism perpetrators are also tightened.

Implementation of security at the Gilimanuk Harbor is also initiated with coordination measures with the Gilimanuk Harbor authority. Besides, the joint officers also directly monitor the inspection of goods and passengers at each checkpoint at Gilimanuk Harbor. (kmb26)

Mohd RASFAN / AFP

This picture taken on May 16, 2018 shows members of the Royal Malaysia Police standing at the entrance of former prime minister Najib Razak’s residence in Kuala Lumpur.

At least a dozen police vehicles converged on Najib’s family compound in the capital Kuala Lumpur in the early hours, with a number of officers entering the home, an AFP journalist saw.

Najib’s lawyer said officers had searched the ex-leader’s home and an apartment for over six hours as part of an investigation into money-laundering, but no arrests were made.

The new government, headed by 92year-old Mahathir Mohamad who secured a stunning election victory last week, has vowed to probe allegations Najib oversaw the looting of a sovereign wealth fund.

“The police just took some handbags and some clothes,” lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal told AFP, adding that Najib had cooperated with the officers.

“We have no indication yet if police will make any arrest.”

Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor, deeply

unpopular due to her reported love of costly overseas shopping trips, was known to have a vast collection of designer clothes and handbags.

The search came just hours after politician Anwar Ibrahim -- a key figure in the alliance that swept to power, who had been thrown in jail under Najib’s rule -- was released, triggering euphoric scenes.

It is an ominous sign for Najib, whose all-powerful ruling coalition was ousted after governing Malaysia for six decades.

The unexpected result has been blamed in large part on public anger over the scandal involving the fund, called 1MDB. Najib established 1MDB and is accused of deep involvement in the looting -- charges he has repeatedly denied. Nearly $700 million had appeared in his personal bank accounts while billions more are unaccounted for. (afp)

Nicaragua’s Ortega holds crisis talks with opposition after unrest

MANAGUA - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega opened talks on Wednesday with opposition groups in a bid to quell a month of antigovernment unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed.

The Church-mediated dialogue, which got underway in the capital Managua, involved representatives of university students who are leading the protests against Ortega as well as some from business groups and unions.

Ortega told the

room that the aim of the talks was to “get past this tragic moment” and restore “peace” to the country, one of Latin America’s poorest.

He was however interrupted by student representatives calling him a “murderer” and urging “an end to the repression.”

“We have come to demand you order the immediate halt of the attacks. You’re the boss of the paramilitaries, of the troops, of the mobs backing the government,” said a leader of the student coalition, Lester Aleman.

The unrest was the worst

faced by Ortega in his past 11 years as president.

The protests were initially triggered by an aborted attempt to reform the near-bankrupt social security system, but quickly morphed into a street movement demanding Ortega’s ouster over a range of grievances.

Rights groups say

at least 58 people were killed, the majority of them protesters.

Ortega said Nicaragua’s police now have orders to not open fire.

He also said that “the deaths were on all sides,” not only that

of the protesters.

Late Wednesday, foreign minister Denis Moncada announced an 11-strong delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights would arrive in Managua on Thursday to observe the situation on the ground.

The government had at first rejected such a mission while a parliament-created commission probed the deaths. (afp)

An anti-government demonstrator shouts slogans in the surroundings of the Episcopal’s Conference Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima, in Managua on May 16, 2018.

12

International

Friday, May 18, 2018

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

For the First Time, Bungaya and Asak Rejang Merged

Syrian entrepreneurs thrive in Turkey, boost economy

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to around half a million Syrians who fled the civil war south of the border, hundreds of Syrian businesses are thriving in a boost both for the displaced community and their host country. Over 3.5 million Syrians are registered in Turkey, far more than in any other country that has welcomed refugees of the seven-year war.

Turkish officials highlight the major economic burden of hosting so many refugees but the presence of this new population -- many well-qualified and multilingual -- and the success of their businesses have also been a fillip for the Turkish economy, contrary to widely-held assumptions.

More than 6,500 companies founded or co-founded by Syrians have been registered in Turkey since the 2011 start of the war, according to the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

And the Syrian Economic Forum (SEF), an organisation which aims to develop entrepreneurship among the Syrian diaspora, estimates the number in fact to be over 10,000 when the informal sector is included.

In Gaziantep alone, 1,250 Syrian companies are registered with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Rami Sharrack, deputy executive director at SEF. - ‘Export worldwide’ In a large complex in Gaziantep’s industrial zone, Syrian businessman Amer Hadri, head of prominent crisp and snack packaging company Zirve Extrusion, has succeeded in resuming his business, once based in the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, just 125 kilometres (78 miles) south of the Turkish city.

“We have been producing machines for manufacturing and packaging crisps for over 20 years,” Hadri told AFP. “Before we exported to the Arab world but since we set up in Turkey, we have realised our ambition to export to the whole world,” he added. All the packaging has a “Produced in Turkey” label, which

A Syrian woman and her children walk on a street near shops in Gaziantep, in the south-west province of Turkey.

Hadri said was a “guarantee of quality” on the European markets.

Like Hadri, many Syrians arrived in Turkey with their experience and customer base. While some target increased exports and access to international markets, other entrepreneurs have more local ambitions.

Dania Abdulbaqi, a civil engineer who came to Turkey from Hama in 2013, opened a creche in August 2016 for children of all nationalities between three months and five years old after not being able to find one in the area. “Mothers who work in this district are near their children and can come and breastfeed them during their breaks.”

For this project, Abdulbaqi attended management training courses with NGOs in Gaziantep, and her husband raised funds from relatives to finance it. “The massive influx has stimulated growth and attracted new investment by providing cheap labour and boost-

ing consumption,” the International Crisis Group said in a report this year. It added that some experts believe the presence of Syrians added about three percent to Turkish economic growth in 2016.

- ‘Important advantage’ Fatma Sahin, mayor of Gaziantep and prominent member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, said she welcomed the opportunities offered by joint ventures between Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs. “People from Gaziantep and Syrians have started businesses together because the fact that they speak two languages, including English and Arabic, is an important advantage, especially for international trade,” she told AFP. The economy has generally been a trump card for Erdogan in his 15 years in power. But, with both unemployment and inflation at over 10 percent, there are fears about the economy’s underlying health.

Mustafa Turkmenoglu, a Turk-

men Syrian originally from Aleppo, left Syria five years ago and created a textile company in Gaziantep.

“All the traders here receive dollars from abroad,” he said. “We benefit from it but others too.”

Turkmenoglu employs 40 Syrians in his workshop, and five in his shop. He said Turks seek higher wages and are more demanding regarding insurance.

The government even relaxed rules to make it easier for Syrians to open businesses although in the face of tensions over favourable treatment, Ankara agreed to impose the same conditions for all. But in the case of Syrian businesses, authorities seem to have, for now, put “on hold” a rule that a company should employ five Turks for every foreigner, Omar Kadkoy, research associate at Ankara-based TEPAV think tank said.

- ‘Aid won’t last forever’ Yet major problems remain, many linked to the long-term issues

AFP

of how -- and whether -- to fully integrate such a large refugee community into Turkish life. Although Ankara allowed work permits to be issued to Syrian refugees in January 2016, less than one percent have one at present, even though two thirds of the refugees are of working age, said Kadkoy.

He added another obstacle was that a large part of the Syrian refugee population did not know Turkish -- which belongs to an entirely different language family to Arabic -- and there is no active policy to teach them. Syrians also fear losing their access to aid, for which as refugees they qualify, if they enter the formal labour market, Kadkoy said.

“They figure if they get formal employment they will be cut off from aid, which is true, (but) the issue there is the aid will certainly not last forever. “The sooner they get a job, the better it is to sustain an income in the long term,” he said. (afp)

Friday, May 18, 2018

Peed tradition of Sukawati maintains its fashion style

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

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

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

Like the mepeed procession

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is one of the sublime cultural traditions. A rare and unique moment can be seen when a series of usaba dangsil ritual is held at Bungaya customary village, Bebandem, Karangasem. Sanctified effigy of Ida Bhatara of Asak customary village goes to Bungaya on the request of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding at Bungaya. Related to such visitation series, the two villages featured the presentation of Rejang sacred dance in the Bale Agung, Saturday (Sep. 17). It becomes unique and rare because it is for the first time to make performance together.Ida Bhatara Asak has made a visit to Bungaya since Friday (Sep. 16).

When traveling and arriving at Bale Agung of Bungaya customary village, almost all the bearers of Ida Bhatara or sanctified effigy fall into trance. After making a sojourn, Ida Bhatara took purificatory rite to Penataran. “When making a sojourn in the Bale Agung, the atmosphere is tense. The whole bearers are falling into trance. They look to miss because it is the first time to carry out a series of usaba dangsil when Ida Bhatara is abiding to give blessing,” said ritual secretary, I Gede Adi Krisna Widana.

On the day after the visitation, it was presented the Rejang sacred dance. Rejang dance is unique as it was implemented simultaneously. The dancers did it for nine rounds simultaneously accompanied with Selonding sacred musical instrument. They consisted of three rounds of Rejang Dewa, three rounds of Rejang Ketut and three rounds of Rejang Legong.

Combination of the rejang dance of Asak and Bungaya is presented in accordance with the request of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding.

Hamlet chief of Asak, Jero Dukuh Ketut Suta, welcomed such request of Ida Bhatara because it

5

also becomes an effort to maintain and preserve the cultural heritage.

“We’ve been given the word immediately by Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding, so that this sacred dance must be dedicated to the sustainability of Bali and welfare of the universe,” he said.

He is unable to ensure how many times this combined rejang is implemented. However, when asked to appear again by Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding, he claimed to be ready. Ida Bhatara Asak is unwilling to return home to Asak from Bungaya village. As planned, Ida Bhatara Asak is only abiding for a day, but when about to return home, Ida Bhatara does not want until the prescribed time limit. Thus, until now Ida Bhatara from Asak village is still abiding there.

Although this combined Rejang dance looks unique, it is still considered to have drawback because the rejang dance from Timbrah village has not joined. Other than Asak, Ida Bhatara of Timbrah village is also asked to make a visit to Bungaya. Since it coincided with the preparation of Kuningan feast, Ida Bhatara at Timbrah cannot go to Bungaya. “If the rejang dance of Timbrah can join and present its rejang dance, this will become amazing. It’s a direct revelation of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding. This usaba dangsil shows that Bungaya become the center of universe,” said Jero Dukuh Ketut Suta.

Gede Krisna Adi Widana added that he is still thinking to re-discuss with the apparatus of Timbrah order to make a visit to Bungaya. But, he admitted to take action if there has been psychical instruction from Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding. As committee of the usaba dangsil he certainly hoped that Ida Bhatara at Timbrah can go to Bungaya. (kmb)

6

Friday, May 18, 2018

W

International

International

RLD

Israel launches new air raid on Hamas in Gaza

JERUSALEM - Israel said Thursday it launched an overnight air raid on a Hamas facility in Gaza after gunfire from the territory targeted its soldiers and damaged a building.

MEMBERS KILLED

Palestinians shop at a market in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 16, 2018, a day before the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Trump discloses payment to attorney who paid off porn star

DOMINICK REUTER / AFP

A fan of adult film star Stephanie Clifford, AKA Stormy Daniels, shows off a magazine and baseball autographed by the star outside the Penthouse Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 8, 2018. Daniels is performing at the club to promote a special edition of Penthouse Magazine.

a tryst with Trump in 2006 while he was married. The president denies the affair, and initially denied all knowledge of the payment, which Cohen has acknowledged was intended to stop her from going public with the allegations.

Trump’s claim began to unravel early this month, however, after Rudy Giuliani, a new member of the president’s legal team, said Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the sum paid to Daniels -- and the president himself subsequently acknowledged the repayment.

A footnote to disclosures submitted Tuesday to the Office of Government Ethics said Cohen had incurred “expenses” on Trump’s behalf in 2016 of between $100,001 and $250,000.

“Mr. Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr. Trump fully reimbursed Mr. Cohen

in 2017,” it said.

Trump’s filing states that the president was not required to disclose Cohen’s expenses, but was doing so in the interest of transparency.

But an accompanying letter to the Justice Department from David Apol, the acting head of the Office of Government Ethics, said the payments by Cohen were indeed required to be reported, as also argued by an outside government ethics group which had lodged official complaints in March.

Apol told Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that he was providing both Trump’s 2017 and 2018 disclosures, as potentially “relevant to any inquiry” the Justice Department may be pursuing into the president’s filings from last year. (afp)

ANTARA PHOTO/Reno Esnir

A number of TNI-AD personnel from Kopassus anti-terror unit during the opening ceremony of joint training of TNI-Police Force in Mako Brimob, Kelapa Dua, Jakarta, recently.

Police involve army`s special elite force to combat terrorism

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Police Headquarters has involved the Army`s Special Elite Force (Kopassus) in combating terrorism in the country.

SAID KHATIB / AFP

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has formally disclosed that he reimbursed his personal attorney more than $100,000 last year, apparently in connection with the payment of hush money to a porn star, government records show.

The disclosure caps a series of contradictory statements from Trump and his representatives on the scandal swirling around lawyer Michael Cohen -- which has widened to ensnare major corporations and a Russian oligarch.

The documents released Wednesday by a US government ethics body do not specify the reason for the payments to Cohen, who paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had

11

Eight alleged terrorists arrested in Riau: Police chief

PEKANBARU - The police has arrested eight suspected terrorists in some areas in Riau Province following the attack to Riau Police headquarters, Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian said.

“As a follow up of the case, our team has arrested eight suspects,” Tito said in his visit to Riau Police headquarters here on Thursday.

However Tito did not elaborate further the location of the arrest as well as the suspects` identity.

The police has continued to trace the alleged terrorists` networking he said.

However, Tito believed that the perpetrators of the attack in Riau police headquarters belonged to the same group with the suspects in previous attacks in the police Mobile Brigade in Depok and Surabaya police headquarters, Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).

“I have said before, all the (terror) attacks were launched by Jamaah Ansharut Daulah. I can point a finger to them after during the past 3-4 years we saw development of the group,” he added.

Four suspects were killed in the incident on early Wednesday.

All the victims came from Dumai.

Following the incident, Dumai police has conducted thorough search in five locations and arrested some individuals. But there is no further information on their identities. (ant)

“The Israeli army struck targets belonging to Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, including terrorist infrastructure and weaponsmaking facilities,” the military said in a statement.

Palestinian security sources confirmed the target was a Hamas base, saying there were no immediate reports of injuries.

On Wednesday, Israeli tanks fired at three Hamas positions after shots from Gaza were fired at Israeli soldiers and bullets from a heavy machinegun hit a house in the town of Sderot.

The exchanges of fire came after weeks of mass protests and clashes on the Gaza border, which peaked on Monday when some 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.

Israel and militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

A senior member of Gaza’s Hamas rulers has said that all but a dozen of the 62 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire during Gaza border protests this week were members of the Islamist group.

The remarks made on Wednesday were seized upon by Israel in an attempt to fend off harsh global criticism over the deaths and prove they were orchestrated and led by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians on Monday when tens of thousands of Palestinians had gathered near the border, while smaller numbers approached the fence and sought to break through.

For more than six weeks, marchers have been demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of the Jewish state.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Tuesday as Palestinians marked the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the war.

The bloodshed continued to draw world attention as violence abated late Wednesday, on the eve of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Sporadic cross-border fire was a reminder of the situation’s unresolved volatility, however.

Pope Francis said he was “very worried” by escalating violence in the Middle East, with Arab foreign ministers set to hold an “extraordinary” meeting Thursday to discuss the situation. (afp)

Friday, May 18, 2018

ANTARA /Wahyu Putro A

The Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian.

“Kopassus has been involved in it (counter-terrorism),” Chief of the Public Relations Division at the National Police Headquarters Inspector General Setyo Wasisto stated here on Wednesday.

Wasisto noted that the Chief of the National Police, General Tito Karnavian, has revealed the involvement of Kopassus in counter-terrorism efforts.

The National Police`s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) has been cooperating with Kopassus in maintaining security when an anti-terror squad raided a terrorist cell.

Chief of the Presidential Staff General (ret) Moeldoko had earlier revealed a plan to involve special elite

forces from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force to fighting terrorism in the country.

“I had reported it to President Joko Widodo yesterday, and he was interested in it. We will discuss it with TNI (National Defense Forces) Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto,” Moeldoko remarked.

Moeldoko once set up a joint special elite force comprising 90 best soldiers from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force when he held the post of TNI chief in 2015 to cope with terrorism in the country.

A series of bomb attacks hit three churches, a city police station in Surabaya, and a flat in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Sunday and Monday, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens.

In Riau Province, the police confirmed that they had shot dead four terrorists attempting to attack the Riau Police Headquarters in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Wednesday. (ant)

TNI receives eight Apache attack helicopters

SEMARANG - The Indonesian Army (TNI) received eight USmade four-blade, twin-turboshaft AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in Semarang on Wednesday.

The helicopters were symbolically handed over by Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu to TNI Commander`s Logistics Assistant

Rear Admiral Bambang Nariyono during a ceremony at the Army Air Force Base at the Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang also attended by some high-ranking officials of the army and US Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Erin Elizabeth McKee. Procurement of the eight helicopters is part of the Foreign Mili-

tary Sales program to advance the country`s weapons defense system (alutsista).

Defense Minister Ryacudu affirmed that the AH-64E Apache was currently the most sophisticated high-tech attack helicopter.

“These eight Apache helicopters are expected to have a deterrent ef-

fect and maximize the protection of the state`s sovereignty,” he noted.

He then instructed the TNI to not only learn about the operation of Apache but also its maintenance techniques.

US Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia McKee revealed that the United States felt immense pride

to support the modernization of Indonesia`s alutsista.

“We hope that the procurement of Apache helicopters by the Indonesian Armed Forces would support the commitment of both countries to realize stability, peace, and security in the region,” she stated. (ant)

10

Destination

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Rockets romp to level NBA series with Warriors

LOS ANGELES - The Houston Rockets ramped up the intensity on Wednesday, powering past the NBA champion Golden State Warriors 127-105 to level their Western Conference finals series at one game apiece.

Houston’s Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Eric Gordon added 27 off the bench as five players scored in double figures for a Rockets team chastened by a 119-106 seriesopening defeat on their home floor on Monday.

“Total team effort,” Harden said.

“We played harder and smarter than game one. That was the only difference.”

The Rockets signalled their intentions early. Their seven fastbreak points in the opening quarter more than doubled the three they mustered in all of game one.

Houston connected on threeof-10 from three-point range in the first period while the Warriors were zero-for-seven and coughed up seven turnovers.

Up 26-21 after one quarter, the Rockets wouldn’t trail from there.

They led 64-50 by halftime, with four players already in double figures as they stepped up the pace and tightened the defensive screws.

“Everything was fueled off our defense,” Gordon said. “We hit the open man at the right time and guys were knocking down shots and when we play that way it’s just a fun game.”

Candidasa Lotus Lagoon

AMLAPURA - The Candidasa lotus lagoon is one of the main iconic attractions of Candidasa and it’s right along the main road and easily visible. The 1000sqm lagoon is filled with blooming pink and fuchsia lotuses with a small garden island with statues as its centrepiece. It’s open to the public and is a regular stop-off for tours to East Bali.

From here, you can catch a glimpse of the rugged coastline of Candidasa with its calm waves, as well as Gili Biaha, one of the smaller islets off the East Bali coast. You may also find a spot under the shade of frangipani to feed the carp and tilapia.

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Hillside Temple Across the road, and on a higher elevation from the Candidasa lotus lagoon, is the 12th century Pura Candidasa temple, featuring twin shrines under a densely-forested hillside. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and the goddess of fertility, Hariti.

You may climb halfway up the staircase for better views across the lagoon, including wider seascapes with Nusa Penida island in the distance. You can also expect crowds of pilgrims to be attending the temple during its festive and lively ‘piodalan’ temple anniversaries, which occur every 210 days on an ‘Anggara Kasih’ Tuesday of the traditional Balinese Pawukon calendar. (IBP/net)

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B.BP.001.05.18.0000641

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during Game Two of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 16, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said there was no major change in strategy -- just more intensity and better execution from a Houston team that led the league with 65 regular-season wins.

“I don’t want to be cantanker-

ous,” D’Antoni said. “You have one of the best offenses of all time, at least, with Golden State and we’re trying to prove we’re up there with them. You’re not going to come in and change the way you play.

“We are who we are. We just did

it better and longer.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the Rockets’ energy made all the difference.

“I just think this game was a matter of the Rockets bringing the force that’s necessary to win a game

and we didn’t,” Kerr said.

“We had seven turnovers in the first quarter. We set the tone early with our own play and allowed them to get some confidence and some easy buckets in transition. (afp)

Ledecky smashes own 1,500m record in pro debut

Looking Front Office Cleaning Service Hub.085238311111

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Katie Ledecky

IBP/net

LOS ANGELES - Five-time Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky smashed her own 1,500m freestyle world record by five seconds on Wednesday in her first race as a professional.

The 21-year-old American star touched the wall in 15min 20.48sec at the Pro Swim event in Indianapolis, obliterating her previous best of 15:25.48 set at the World Championships in Kazan in 2015.

“I was pretty surprised when I saw the ‘20,’” Ledecky said with a little laugh, adding that she thought as the swim unfolded that she would be somewhere under 15:30, maybe.

“When I saw the 15:20 I was pretty shocked,” she said.

This week’s meet in Indianapolis is Ledecky’s first since turning pro-

fessional following the NCAA collegiate championships in March.

“My first pro swim -- that’s one I’ll never forget,” said Ledecky, who added that so far she hadn’t felt any different in her first meet as a professional.

Ledecky won gold in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics and followed it up with four golds and a silver at the Rio Olympics two years ago.

The 1,500m free will be introduced as an Olympic event for women at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Ledecky was under world-record pace for much of Wednesday’s race and touched 49 seconds clear of the nearest finisher in her heat.

She now owns the eight fastest times in history in the event dating to 2013 and has 14 career worldrecord swims.

“It’s a feeling that never gets old,” said Ledecky, who hadn’t set a world record since the Rio Games.

“I knew I was going to have a good swim,” Ledecky said. “I’ve just been training really, really well, doing some things that I haven’t done before.

“I didn’t know if the good training that I’ve put in these past six weeks was going to translate immediately here or if it was going to be down the road. I got into the race and felt good and just tried to hold steady the whole way.”

Ledecky will have plenty more chances to impress in Indianapolis, where she is also entered in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle and the 200m and 400m individual medley. (afp)

8

Friday, May 18, 2018

Friday, May 18, 2018

Stakes raised for Mourinho-Conte feud in Cup final showdown

Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte renew hostilities with the stakes heightened when Manchester United and Chelsea face off in Saturday’s FA Cup final needing silverware to mask this season’s flaws. Conte’s need is the greater. Having missed out on Champions League football for next season, many expect the Wembley showpiece to be the Italian’s final match in charge at Stamford Bridge, regardless of the outcome.

If it is, nothing will give Conte more joy than bowing out by winning a cup competition for the first time as a coach by beating the man with whom he has clashed most regularly and bitterly since arriving in England. Conte labelled Mourinho a “little man” and “fake” at the peak of their spat in December.

Days earlier, Mourinho had appeared to allude to a suspension given to Conte for allegedly failing to report match-fixing when coaching at Siena.

Conte later won an appeal, clearing him of any wrongdoing in the case. The root of their feud comes from Conte’s success in his first campaign at Chelsea, just a season after Mourinho’s second spell at Stamford Bridge ended in the Portuguese being sacked having won just four of Chelsea’s first 16 league games, in December 2015.

On his first return as a visiting manager, Mourinho protested at what he perceived as Conte’s “humiliating” celebrations in a 4-0 victory for the Blues over United. Conte then warned his players at the start of this season not to let their standards slip to the levels of “the last season with Mourinho”.

- Chelsea slip -

In hindsight, the Italian was right to warn against complacency as Chelsea have fallen well short of the form they showed in storming to the title last season. A fifth-placed finish in the Premier League was confirmed when they capitulated 3-0 to Newcastle on the final day of the season on Sunday.

“To finish fifth is a big disappointment. How damaging is it not to be in the Champions League? You’ll have to ask the club about that,” Conte said, only intensifying speculation about his future. “If we play like this in the FA Cup final, we don’t have a chance. We have six days to change our approach, our desire, our will to fight because we can do much better.” Mourinho has

at least ensured Champions League qualification for next season via a second-place finish in the Premier League.

However, a record 19-point gap to champions Manchester City and a deeply disappointing Champions League last-16 exit to Sevilla means the Portuguese is also left hanging on until the final game of the season to deliver a trophy that would silence some of the critics of United’s often turgid performances, lacking in the invention and flair displayed by rivals City and Champions League finalists Liverpool.

“Because I almost do that all the time (win a trophy), when I don’t do it, you (the media) kill me,” said Mourinho on the prospect of going without a trophy in his second season at Old Trafford. “Which is what you are all ready to do.” To do so, Mourinho must shake United out of their own end-of-season slumber -- the Red Devils have scored just once in their past three games.

Whether Mourinho can close the gap on City next season will depend on his ability to finally get the best out of his attacking talent, particularly marquee signings Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez.

Starting that process with a trophy on Saturday would be a strong statement of intent from United, and give Mourinho the extra satisfaction of showing Conte how short-lived life as Chelsea manager under ruthless Russian owner Roman Abramovich can be. (afp) Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho shouts from the touch line during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Watford at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on May 13, 2018.

England fans warned over flag-waving at World Cup

IBP/net

Police chiefs have urged England fans attending the World Cup not to display the flag of St George over fears it will be seen as antagonistic to their Russian hosts. Mark Roberts of the National Police Chiefs’ Council is heading to Russia with a team of fellow officers to work with their Russian counterparts to protect up to 10,000 England fans.

“I think people need to be really careful with flags. It can come across as almost imperialistic... and can cause antagonism,” Roberts, the national lead for football policing, told Britain’s Times newspaper.

“We really urge some caution about people putting flags out and waving them about in public. “We would not expect people to come across to this country, get drunk

and drape flags on the Cenotaph (the memorial to Britain’s national war dead) so we need to extend the same courtesy when we go abroad.”

After Russian hooligans attacked England fans in Marseilles in 2016, they posted photos of dozens of “captured” St George’s flags, the report said. Roberts warned fans to be particularly careful in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, which hosts England’s opening game against Tunisia on June 18.

Tensions are high between Britain and Russia over the poisoning of former double agent Yuri Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury earlier this year.

Britain has blamed Russia for the attempted murder, a charge that Moscow has strongly denied. (afp)

9

With World Cup looming, Neymar admits: ‘nobody is as scared as me’

As Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, battles to be fit for Brazil’s World Cup campaign, he is aware of the pressure. “Nobody is as scared as me,” he said.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker has not played since February, but knows that soccer-mad Brazil hopes he is fit to lead their team to glory in the World Cup. “I know that people are a little anxious, but nobody more than me, nobody is as nervous about my comeback and nobody is more scared than me,” Neymar told Brazilian station TV Globo. The world’s most expensive player was injured on February 25 playing for PSG against Marseille in the French league.

The 26-year-old striker underwent surgery on a bone in his right foot in Brazil at the start of Match and has since dedicated himself to preparing for the World Cup. “It’s a very difficult time, right?

I think it’s one of the most difficult I’ve ever had, because I’m very close to a dream I have, which is the World Cup,” said Neymar, who broke a bone in his neck in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and missed the semifinal, which the hosts lost, 7-1, to Germany.

“Thank God I have this further opportunity, this further chance, to try to be a world champion for my country, which is a dream that I have had since childhood,” Ney-

mar said. “It is my goal. I hope it is my cup.”

Neymar was on Tuesday included in the 23-man provisional Brazilian squad for the World Cup which starts in Russia on June 14.

Brazil are aiming to add a sixth star on their shirts.

Neymar resumed training with PSG last Sunday. If he is to gain match practice before the World Cup his chances will come in warm-up games against Croatia in Liverpool on June 3 and against Austria in Vienna three days later. Brazil kick off their World Cup against Switzerland in Rostov on June 17. Their group also includes Costa Rica and Serbia. (afp)

Cannavaro China crisis looms after Champions League exit

Fabio Cannavaro is under growing pressure at Guangzhou Evergrande after the Chinese heavyweights exited the AFC Champions League and have now failed to win for five games in a nightmare fortnight. The Italian World Cup winner admitted that his former side Tianjin Quanjian showed greater desire as Alexandre Pato scored in a 2-2 draw in Guangzhou on Tuesday to squeeze into the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals.

The 44-year-old Cannavaro, who left Tianjin to take over at the Chinese champions from the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari in the close season, has seen his side go out of the Chinese FA Cup and now the continent’s top club competition in the space of two weeks. With a third of the Chinese season gone, Guangzhou have only their Chinese Super League (CSL) title to defend.

They have won the domestic championship seven times in a row but face a real battle to make it eight and are sitting fifth in the table, albeit only two points off faltering leaders Shanghai SIPG. “Football is a very strange thing,” said Cannavaro, who last season took

Tianjin into the Champions League for the first time in their short history and then saw his former side stun the two-time Asian champions.

“Perhaps you can score after one or two opportunities, but sometimes you probably can’t after 30 shots and we often had this kind of situation this season,” the Oriental Sports Daily quoted him as saying. “For this game, we created lots of opportunities but couldn’t score enough goals.”

Brazilian striker Ricardo Goulart hit a double in the last-16 clash on Tuesday, but twice the home side were swiftly pegged back by a Tianjin team who are in the bottom half of the CSL. - Fan frustration -

Ambitious Tianjin, who along with the Brazilian Pato have French striker Anthony Modeste in attack and Belgian international Axel Witsel in midfield, are in just their second season in China’s top tier. “Tianjin Quanjian’s sense of hunger in these two games was a lot stronger than ours,” said Cannavaro, whose side had been slight favourites to win the tie after forcing a goalless draw in the first leg away from home.

“Many of their players were playing in the second division 18 months ago.” Guangzhou fans, so used to seeing their side dominate, are growing restless and media turned the screw on the Italian, who skippered his country to World Cup glory in 2006. Oriental Sports Daily said that Cannavaro had little margin for further error and Guangzhou Daily said the team had clearly deteriorated in some respects under Cannavaro.

But it also pointed out that he was managing an ageing squad that contains few outstanding players and also questioned the players’ hunger.

While the likes of Tianjin and CSL leaders Shanghai SIPG have spent heavily on foreign players in the last two seasons, Guangzhou Evergrande have been comparatively restrained.

They lost Brazil international Paulinho to Barcelona last summer and replaced him with littleknown Serbian Nemanja Gudelj from CSL side Tianjin Teda.

Guangzhou have pledged to build an all-Chinese team by 2020, in line with a Chinese government drive to improve the national team and rein in spending on overseas players. (afp)

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar reacts before the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on May 12, 2018.

8

Friday, May 18, 2018

Friday, May 18, 2018

Stakes raised for Mourinho-Conte feud in Cup final showdown

Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte renew hostilities with the stakes heightened when Manchester United and Chelsea face off in Saturday’s FA Cup final needing silverware to mask this season’s flaws. Conte’s need is the greater. Having missed out on Champions League football for next season, many expect the Wembley showpiece to be the Italian’s final match in charge at Stamford Bridge, regardless of the outcome.

If it is, nothing will give Conte more joy than bowing out by winning a cup competition for the first time as a coach by beating the man with whom he has clashed most regularly and bitterly since arriving in England. Conte labelled Mourinho a “little man” and “fake” at the peak of their spat in December.

Days earlier, Mourinho had appeared to allude to a suspension given to Conte for allegedly failing to report match-fixing when coaching at Siena.

Conte later won an appeal, clearing him of any wrongdoing in the case. The root of their feud comes from Conte’s success in his first campaign at Chelsea, just a season after Mourinho’s second spell at Stamford Bridge ended in the Portuguese being sacked having won just four of Chelsea’s first 16 league games, in December 2015.

On his first return as a visiting manager, Mourinho protested at what he perceived as Conte’s “humiliating” celebrations in a 4-0 victory for the Blues over United. Conte then warned his players at the start of this season not to let their standards slip to the levels of “the last season with Mourinho”.

- Chelsea slip -

In hindsight, the Italian was right to warn against complacency as Chelsea have fallen well short of the form they showed in storming to the title last season. A fifth-placed finish in the Premier League was confirmed when they capitulated 3-0 to Newcastle on the final day of the season on Sunday.

“To finish fifth is a big disappointment. How damaging is it not to be in the Champions League? You’ll have to ask the club about that,” Conte said, only intensifying speculation about his future. “If we play like this in the FA Cup final, we don’t have a chance. We have six days to change our approach, our desire, our will to fight because we can do much better.” Mourinho has

at least ensured Champions League qualification for next season via a second-place finish in the Premier League.

However, a record 19-point gap to champions Manchester City and a deeply disappointing Champions League last-16 exit to Sevilla means the Portuguese is also left hanging on until the final game of the season to deliver a trophy that would silence some of the critics of United’s often turgid performances, lacking in the invention and flair displayed by rivals City and Champions League finalists Liverpool.

“Because I almost do that all the time (win a trophy), when I don’t do it, you (the media) kill me,” said Mourinho on the prospect of going without a trophy in his second season at Old Trafford. “Which is what you are all ready to do.” To do so, Mourinho must shake United out of their own end-of-season slumber -- the Red Devils have scored just once in their past three games.

Whether Mourinho can close the gap on City next season will depend on his ability to finally get the best out of his attacking talent, particularly marquee signings Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez.

Starting that process with a trophy on Saturday would be a strong statement of intent from United, and give Mourinho the extra satisfaction of showing Conte how short-lived life as Chelsea manager under ruthless Russian owner Roman Abramovich can be. (afp) Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho shouts from the touch line during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Watford at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on May 13, 2018.

England fans warned over flag-waving at World Cup

IBP/net

Police chiefs have urged England fans attending the World Cup not to display the flag of St George over fears it will be seen as antagonistic to their Russian hosts. Mark Roberts of the National Police Chiefs’ Council is heading to Russia with a team of fellow officers to work with their Russian counterparts to protect up to 10,000 England fans.

“I think people need to be really careful with flags. It can come across as almost imperialistic... and can cause antagonism,” Roberts, the national lead for football policing, told Britain’s Times newspaper.

“We really urge some caution about people putting flags out and waving them about in public. “We would not expect people to come across to this country, get drunk

and drape flags on the Cenotaph (the memorial to Britain’s national war dead) so we need to extend the same courtesy when we go abroad.”

After Russian hooligans attacked England fans in Marseilles in 2016, they posted photos of dozens of “captured” St George’s flags, the report said. Roberts warned fans to be particularly careful in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, which hosts England’s opening game against Tunisia on June 18.

Tensions are high between Britain and Russia over the poisoning of former double agent Yuri Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury earlier this year.

Britain has blamed Russia for the attempted murder, a charge that Moscow has strongly denied. (afp)

9

With World Cup looming, Neymar admits: ‘nobody is as scared as me’

As Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, battles to be fit for Brazil’s World Cup campaign, he is aware of the pressure. “Nobody is as scared as me,” he said.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker has not played since February, but knows that soccer-mad Brazil hopes he is fit to lead their team to glory in the World Cup. “I know that people are a little anxious, but nobody more than me, nobody is as nervous about my comeback and nobody is more scared than me,” Neymar told Brazilian station TV Globo. The world’s most expensive player was injured on February 25 playing for PSG against Marseille in the French league.

The 26-year-old striker underwent surgery on a bone in his right foot in Brazil at the start of Match and has since dedicated himself to preparing for the World Cup. “It’s a very difficult time, right?

I think it’s one of the most difficult I’ve ever had, because I’m very close to a dream I have, which is the World Cup,” said Neymar, who broke a bone in his neck in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and missed the semifinal, which the hosts lost, 7-1, to Germany.

“Thank God I have this further opportunity, this further chance, to try to be a world champion for my country, which is a dream that I have had since childhood,” Ney-

mar said. “It is my goal. I hope it is my cup.”

Neymar was on Tuesday included in the 23-man provisional Brazilian squad for the World Cup which starts in Russia on June 14.

Brazil are aiming to add a sixth star on their shirts.

Neymar resumed training with PSG last Sunday. If he is to gain match practice before the World Cup his chances will come in warm-up games against Croatia in Liverpool on June 3 and against Austria in Vienna three days later. Brazil kick off their World Cup against Switzerland in Rostov on June 17. Their group also includes Costa Rica and Serbia. (afp)

Cannavaro China crisis looms after Champions League exit

Fabio Cannavaro is under growing pressure at Guangzhou Evergrande after the Chinese heavyweights exited the AFC Champions League and have now failed to win for five games in a nightmare fortnight. The Italian World Cup winner admitted that his former side Tianjin Quanjian showed greater desire as Alexandre Pato scored in a 2-2 draw in Guangzhou on Tuesday to squeeze into the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals.

The 44-year-old Cannavaro, who left Tianjin to take over at the Chinese champions from the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari in the close season, has seen his side go out of the Chinese FA Cup and now the continent’s top club competition in the space of two weeks. With a third of the Chinese season gone, Guangzhou have only their Chinese Super League (CSL) title to defend.

They have won the domestic championship seven times in a row but face a real battle to make it eight and are sitting fifth in the table, albeit only two points off faltering leaders Shanghai SIPG. “Football is a very strange thing,” said Cannavaro, who last season took

Tianjin into the Champions League for the first time in their short history and then saw his former side stun the two-time Asian champions.

“Perhaps you can score after one or two opportunities, but sometimes you probably can’t after 30 shots and we often had this kind of situation this season,” the Oriental Sports Daily quoted him as saying. “For this game, we created lots of opportunities but couldn’t score enough goals.”

Brazilian striker Ricardo Goulart hit a double in the last-16 clash on Tuesday, but twice the home side were swiftly pegged back by a Tianjin team who are in the bottom half of the CSL. - Fan frustration -

Ambitious Tianjin, who along with the Brazilian Pato have French striker Anthony Modeste in attack and Belgian international Axel Witsel in midfield, are in just their second season in China’s top tier. “Tianjin Quanjian’s sense of hunger in these two games was a lot stronger than ours,” said Cannavaro, whose side had been slight favourites to win the tie after forcing a goalless draw in the first leg away from home.

“Many of their players were playing in the second division 18 months ago.” Guangzhou fans, so used to seeing their side dominate, are growing restless and media turned the screw on the Italian, who skippered his country to World Cup glory in 2006. Oriental Sports Daily said that Cannavaro had little margin for further error and Guangzhou Daily said the team had clearly deteriorated in some respects under Cannavaro.

But it also pointed out that he was managing an ageing squad that contains few outstanding players and also questioned the players’ hunger.

While the likes of Tianjin and CSL leaders Shanghai SIPG have spent heavily on foreign players in the last two seasons, Guangzhou Evergrande have been comparatively restrained.

They lost Brazil international Paulinho to Barcelona last summer and replaced him with littleknown Serbian Nemanja Gudelj from CSL side Tianjin Teda.

Guangzhou have pledged to build an all-Chinese team by 2020, in line with a Chinese government drive to improve the national team and rein in spending on overseas players. (afp)

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar reacts before the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on May 12, 2018.

10

Destination

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Rockets romp to level NBA series with Warriors

LOS ANGELES - The Houston Rockets ramped up the intensity on Wednesday, powering past the NBA champion Golden State Warriors 127-105 to level their Western Conference finals series at one game apiece.

Houston’s Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Eric Gordon added 27 off the bench as five players scored in double figures for a Rockets team chastened by a 119-106 seriesopening defeat on their home floor on Monday.

“Total team effort,” Harden said.

“We played harder and smarter than game one. That was the only difference.”

The Rockets signalled their intentions early. Their seven fastbreak points in the opening quarter more than doubled the three they mustered in all of game one.

Houston connected on threeof-10 from three-point range in the first period while the Warriors were zero-for-seven and coughed up seven turnovers.

Up 26-21 after one quarter, the Rockets wouldn’t trail from there.

They led 64-50 by halftime, with four players already in double figures as they stepped up the pace and tightened the defensive screws.

“Everything was fueled off our defense,” Gordon said. “We hit the open man at the right time and guys were knocking down shots and when we play that way it’s just a fun game.”

Candidasa Lotus Lagoon

AMLAPURA - The Candidasa lotus lagoon is one of the main iconic attractions of Candidasa and it’s right along the main road and easily visible. The 1000sqm lagoon is filled with blooming pink and fuchsia lotuses with a small garden island with statues as its centrepiece. It’s open to the public and is a regular stop-off for tours to East Bali.

From here, you can catch a glimpse of the rugged coastline of Candidasa with its calm waves, as well as Gili Biaha, one of the smaller islets off the East Bali coast. You may also find a spot under the shade of frangipani to feed the carp and tilapia.

Accountant needed for international travel. Min.5 years experince. English speaking. Send letter of application and resume to: receptifindo@gmail.com

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Hillside Temple Across the road, and on a higher elevation from the Candidasa lotus lagoon, is the 12th century Pura Candidasa temple, featuring twin shrines under a densely-forested hillside. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and the goddess of fertility, Hariti.

You may climb halfway up the staircase for better views across the lagoon, including wider seascapes with Nusa Penida island in the distance. You can also expect crowds of pilgrims to be attending the temple during its festive and lively ‘piodalan’ temple anniversaries, which occur every 210 days on an ‘Anggara Kasih’ Tuesday of the traditional Balinese Pawukon calendar. (IBP/net)

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Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during Game Two of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 16, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said there was no major change in strategy -- just more intensity and better execution from a Houston team that led the league with 65 regular-season wins.

“I don’t want to be cantanker-

ous,” D’Antoni said. “You have one of the best offenses of all time, at least, with Golden State and we’re trying to prove we’re up there with them. You’re not going to come in and change the way you play.

“We are who we are. We just did

it better and longer.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the Rockets’ energy made all the difference.

“I just think this game was a matter of the Rockets bringing the force that’s necessary to win a game

and we didn’t,” Kerr said.

“We had seven turnovers in the first quarter. We set the tone early with our own play and allowed them to get some confidence and some easy buckets in transition. (afp)

Ledecky smashes own 1,500m record in pro debut

Looking Front Office Cleaning Service Hub.085238311111

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Wanted Local Diving Instructor (Good English is Required) & Equipment staff(English isn’t required/young & Single male preferred)for diving company in Legian.Honest positive careful & Enthusiastic person contact at 08123814964 or info@divecenterbali.com

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Katie Ledecky

IBP/net

LOS ANGELES - Five-time Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky smashed her own 1,500m freestyle world record by five seconds on Wednesday in her first race as a professional.

The 21-year-old American star touched the wall in 15min 20.48sec at the Pro Swim event in Indianapolis, obliterating her previous best of 15:25.48 set at the World Championships in Kazan in 2015.

“I was pretty surprised when I saw the ‘20,’” Ledecky said with a little laugh, adding that she thought as the swim unfolded that she would be somewhere under 15:30, maybe.

“When I saw the 15:20 I was pretty shocked,” she said.

This week’s meet in Indianapolis is Ledecky’s first since turning pro-

fessional following the NCAA collegiate championships in March.

“My first pro swim -- that’s one I’ll never forget,” said Ledecky, who added that so far she hadn’t felt any different in her first meet as a professional.

Ledecky won gold in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics and followed it up with four golds and a silver at the Rio Olympics two years ago.

The 1,500m free will be introduced as an Olympic event for women at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Ledecky was under world-record pace for much of Wednesday’s race and touched 49 seconds clear of the nearest finisher in her heat.

She now owns the eight fastest times in history in the event dating to 2013 and has 14 career worldrecord swims.

“It’s a feeling that never gets old,” said Ledecky, who hadn’t set a world record since the Rio Games.

“I knew I was going to have a good swim,” Ledecky said. “I’ve just been training really, really well, doing some things that I haven’t done before.

“I didn’t know if the good training that I’ve put in these past six weeks was going to translate immediately here or if it was going to be down the road. I got into the race and felt good and just tried to hold steady the whole way.”

Ledecky will have plenty more chances to impress in Indianapolis, where she is also entered in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle and the 200m and 400m individual medley. (afp)

6

Friday, May 18, 2018

W

International

International

RLD

Israel launches new air raid on Hamas in Gaza

JERUSALEM - Israel said Thursday it launched an overnight air raid on a Hamas facility in Gaza after gunfire from the territory targeted its soldiers and damaged a building.

MEMBERS KILLED

Palestinians shop at a market in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 16, 2018, a day before the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Trump discloses payment to attorney who paid off porn star

DOMINICK REUTER / AFP

A fan of adult film star Stephanie Clifford, AKA Stormy Daniels, shows off a magazine and baseball autographed by the star outside the Penthouse Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 8, 2018. Daniels is performing at the club to promote a special edition of Penthouse Magazine.

a tryst with Trump in 2006 while he was married. The president denies the affair, and initially denied all knowledge of the payment, which Cohen has acknowledged was intended to stop her from going public with the allegations.

Trump’s claim began to unravel early this month, however, after Rudy Giuliani, a new member of the president’s legal team, said Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the sum paid to Daniels -- and the president himself subsequently acknowledged the repayment.

A footnote to disclosures submitted Tuesday to the Office of Government Ethics said Cohen had incurred “expenses” on Trump’s behalf in 2016 of between $100,001 and $250,000.

“Mr. Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr. Trump fully reimbursed Mr. Cohen

in 2017,” it said.

Trump’s filing states that the president was not required to disclose Cohen’s expenses, but was doing so in the interest of transparency.

But an accompanying letter to the Justice Department from David Apol, the acting head of the Office of Government Ethics, said the payments by Cohen were indeed required to be reported, as also argued by an outside government ethics group which had lodged official complaints in March.

Apol told Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that he was providing both Trump’s 2017 and 2018 disclosures, as potentially “relevant to any inquiry” the Justice Department may be pursuing into the president’s filings from last year. (afp)

ANTARA PHOTO/Reno Esnir

A number of TNI-AD personnel from Kopassus anti-terror unit during the opening ceremony of joint training of TNI-Police Force in Mako Brimob, Kelapa Dua, Jakarta, recently.

Police involve army`s special elite force to combat terrorism

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Police Headquarters has involved the Army`s Special Elite Force (Kopassus) in combating terrorism in the country.

SAID KHATIB / AFP

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has formally disclosed that he reimbursed his personal attorney more than $100,000 last year, apparently in connection with the payment of hush money to a porn star, government records show.

The disclosure caps a series of contradictory statements from Trump and his representatives on the scandal swirling around lawyer Michael Cohen -- which has widened to ensnare major corporations and a Russian oligarch.

The documents released Wednesday by a US government ethics body do not specify the reason for the payments to Cohen, who paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had

11

Eight alleged terrorists arrested in Riau: Police chief

PEKANBARU - The police has arrested eight suspected terrorists in some areas in Riau Province following the attack to Riau Police headquarters, Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian said.

“As a follow up of the case, our team has arrested eight suspects,” Tito said in his visit to Riau Police headquarters here on Thursday.

However Tito did not elaborate further the location of the arrest as well as the suspects` identity.

The police has continued to trace the alleged terrorists` networking he said.

However, Tito believed that the perpetrators of the attack in Riau police headquarters belonged to the same group with the suspects in previous attacks in the police Mobile Brigade in Depok and Surabaya police headquarters, Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).

“I have said before, all the (terror) attacks were launched by Jamaah Ansharut Daulah. I can point a finger to them after during the past 3-4 years we saw development of the group,” he added.

Four suspects were killed in the incident on early Wednesday.

All the victims came from Dumai.

Following the incident, Dumai police has conducted thorough search in five locations and arrested some individuals. But there is no further information on their identities. (ant)

“The Israeli army struck targets belonging to Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, including terrorist infrastructure and weaponsmaking facilities,” the military said in a statement.

Palestinian security sources confirmed the target was a Hamas base, saying there were no immediate reports of injuries.

On Wednesday, Israeli tanks fired at three Hamas positions after shots from Gaza were fired at Israeli soldiers and bullets from a heavy machinegun hit a house in the town of Sderot.

The exchanges of fire came after weeks of mass protests and clashes on the Gaza border, which peaked on Monday when some 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.

Israel and militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

A senior member of Gaza’s Hamas rulers has said that all but a dozen of the 62 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire during Gaza border protests this week were members of the Islamist group.

The remarks made on Wednesday were seized upon by Israel in an attempt to fend off harsh global criticism over the deaths and prove they were orchestrated and led by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians on Monday when tens of thousands of Palestinians had gathered near the border, while smaller numbers approached the fence and sought to break through.

For more than six weeks, marchers have been demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of the Jewish state.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Tuesday as Palestinians marked the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the war.

The bloodshed continued to draw world attention as violence abated late Wednesday, on the eve of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Sporadic cross-border fire was a reminder of the situation’s unresolved volatility, however.

Pope Francis said he was “very worried” by escalating violence in the Middle East, with Arab foreign ministers set to hold an “extraordinary” meeting Thursday to discuss the situation. (afp)

Friday, May 18, 2018

ANTARA /Wahyu Putro A

The Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian.

“Kopassus has been involved in it (counter-terrorism),” Chief of the Public Relations Division at the National Police Headquarters Inspector General Setyo Wasisto stated here on Wednesday.

Wasisto noted that the Chief of the National Police, General Tito Karnavian, has revealed the involvement of Kopassus in counter-terrorism efforts.

The National Police`s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) has been cooperating with Kopassus in maintaining security when an anti-terror squad raided a terrorist cell.

Chief of the Presidential Staff General (ret) Moeldoko had earlier revealed a plan to involve special elite

forces from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force to fighting terrorism in the country.

“I had reported it to President Joko Widodo yesterday, and he was interested in it. We will discuss it with TNI (National Defense Forces) Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto,” Moeldoko remarked.

Moeldoko once set up a joint special elite force comprising 90 best soldiers from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force when he held the post of TNI chief in 2015 to cope with terrorism in the country.

A series of bomb attacks hit three churches, a city police station in Surabaya, and a flat in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Sunday and Monday, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens.

In Riau Province, the police confirmed that they had shot dead four terrorists attempting to attack the Riau Police Headquarters in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Wednesday. (ant)

TNI receives eight Apache attack helicopters

SEMARANG - The Indonesian Army (TNI) received eight USmade four-blade, twin-turboshaft AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in Semarang on Wednesday.

The helicopters were symbolically handed over by Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu to TNI Commander`s Logistics Assistant

Rear Admiral Bambang Nariyono during a ceremony at the Army Air Force Base at the Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang also attended by some high-ranking officials of the army and US Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Erin Elizabeth McKee. Procurement of the eight helicopters is part of the Foreign Mili-

tary Sales program to advance the country`s weapons defense system (alutsista).

Defense Minister Ryacudu affirmed that the AH-64E Apache was currently the most sophisticated high-tech attack helicopter.

“These eight Apache helicopters are expected to have a deterrent ef-

fect and maximize the protection of the state`s sovereignty,” he noted.

He then instructed the TNI to not only learn about the operation of Apache but also its maintenance techniques.

US Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia McKee revealed that the United States felt immense pride

to support the modernization of Indonesia`s alutsista.

“We hope that the procurement of Apache helicopters by the Indonesian Armed Forces would support the commitment of both countries to realize stability, peace, and security in the region,” she stated. (ant)

12

International

Friday, May 18, 2018

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

For the First Time, Bungaya and Asak Rejang Merged

Syrian entrepreneurs thrive in Turkey, boost economy

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to around half a million Syrians who fled the civil war south of the border, hundreds of Syrian businesses are thriving in a boost both for the displaced community and their host country. Over 3.5 million Syrians are registered in Turkey, far more than in any other country that has welcomed refugees of the seven-year war.

Turkish officials highlight the major economic burden of hosting so many refugees but the presence of this new population -- many well-qualified and multilingual -- and the success of their businesses have also been a fillip for the Turkish economy, contrary to widely-held assumptions.

More than 6,500 companies founded or co-founded by Syrians have been registered in Turkey since the 2011 start of the war, according to the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

And the Syrian Economic Forum (SEF), an organisation which aims to develop entrepreneurship among the Syrian diaspora, estimates the number in fact to be over 10,000 when the informal sector is included.

In Gaziantep alone, 1,250 Syrian companies are registered with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Rami Sharrack, deputy executive director at SEF. - ‘Export worldwide’ In a large complex in Gaziantep’s industrial zone, Syrian businessman Amer Hadri, head of prominent crisp and snack packaging company Zirve Extrusion, has succeeded in resuming his business, once based in the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, just 125 kilometres (78 miles) south of the Turkish city.

“We have been producing machines for manufacturing and packaging crisps for over 20 years,” Hadri told AFP. “Before we exported to the Arab world but since we set up in Turkey, we have realised our ambition to export to the whole world,” he added. All the packaging has a “Produced in Turkey” label, which

A Syrian woman and her children walk on a street near shops in Gaziantep, in the south-west province of Turkey.

Hadri said was a “guarantee of quality” on the European markets.

Like Hadri, many Syrians arrived in Turkey with their experience and customer base. While some target increased exports and access to international markets, other entrepreneurs have more local ambitions.

Dania Abdulbaqi, a civil engineer who came to Turkey from Hama in 2013, opened a creche in August 2016 for children of all nationalities between three months and five years old after not being able to find one in the area. “Mothers who work in this district are near their children and can come and breastfeed them during their breaks.”

For this project, Abdulbaqi attended management training courses with NGOs in Gaziantep, and her husband raised funds from relatives to finance it. “The massive influx has stimulated growth and attracted new investment by providing cheap labour and boost-

ing consumption,” the International Crisis Group said in a report this year. It added that some experts believe the presence of Syrians added about three percent to Turkish economic growth in 2016.

- ‘Important advantage’ Fatma Sahin, mayor of Gaziantep and prominent member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, said she welcomed the opportunities offered by joint ventures between Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs. “People from Gaziantep and Syrians have started businesses together because the fact that they speak two languages, including English and Arabic, is an important advantage, especially for international trade,” she told AFP. The economy has generally been a trump card for Erdogan in his 15 years in power. But, with both unemployment and inflation at over 10 percent, there are fears about the economy’s underlying health.

Mustafa Turkmenoglu, a Turk-

men Syrian originally from Aleppo, left Syria five years ago and created a textile company in Gaziantep.

“All the traders here receive dollars from abroad,” he said. “We benefit from it but others too.”

Turkmenoglu employs 40 Syrians in his workshop, and five in his shop. He said Turks seek higher wages and are more demanding regarding insurance.

The government even relaxed rules to make it easier for Syrians to open businesses although in the face of tensions over favourable treatment, Ankara agreed to impose the same conditions for all. But in the case of Syrian businesses, authorities seem to have, for now, put “on hold” a rule that a company should employ five Turks for every foreigner, Omar Kadkoy, research associate at Ankara-based TEPAV think tank said.

- ‘Aid won’t last forever’ Yet major problems remain, many linked to the long-term issues

AFP

of how -- and whether -- to fully integrate such a large refugee community into Turkish life. Although Ankara allowed work permits to be issued to Syrian refugees in January 2016, less than one percent have one at present, even though two thirds of the refugees are of working age, said Kadkoy.

He added another obstacle was that a large part of the Syrian refugee population did not know Turkish -- which belongs to an entirely different language family to Arabic -- and there is no active policy to teach them. Syrians also fear losing their access to aid, for which as refugees they qualify, if they enter the formal labour market, Kadkoy said.

“They figure if they get formal employment they will be cut off from aid, which is true, (but) the issue there is the aid will certainly not last forever. “The sooner they get a job, the better it is to sustain an income in the long term,” he said. (afp)

Friday, May 18, 2018

Peed tradition of Sukawati maintains its fashion style

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

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

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

Like the mepeed procession

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is one of the sublime cultural traditions. A rare and unique moment can be seen when a series of usaba dangsil ritual is held at Bungaya customary village, Bebandem, Karangasem. Sanctified effigy of Ida Bhatara of Asak customary village goes to Bungaya on the request of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding at Bungaya. Related to such visitation series, the two villages featured the presentation of Rejang sacred dance in the Bale Agung, Saturday (Sep. 17). It becomes unique and rare because it is for the first time to make performance together.Ida Bhatara Asak has made a visit to Bungaya since Friday (Sep. 16).

When traveling and arriving at Bale Agung of Bungaya customary village, almost all the bearers of Ida Bhatara or sanctified effigy fall into trance. After making a sojourn, Ida Bhatara took purificatory rite to Penataran. “When making a sojourn in the Bale Agung, the atmosphere is tense. The whole bearers are falling into trance. They look to miss because it is the first time to carry out a series of usaba dangsil when Ida Bhatara is abiding to give blessing,” said ritual secretary, I Gede Adi Krisna Widana.

On the day after the visitation, it was presented the Rejang sacred dance. Rejang dance is unique as it was implemented simultaneously. The dancers did it for nine rounds simultaneously accompanied with Selonding sacred musical instrument. They consisted of three rounds of Rejang Dewa, three rounds of Rejang Ketut and three rounds of Rejang Legong.

Combination of the rejang dance of Asak and Bungaya is presented in accordance with the request of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding.

Hamlet chief of Asak, Jero Dukuh Ketut Suta, welcomed such request of Ida Bhatara because it

5

also becomes an effort to maintain and preserve the cultural heritage.

“We’ve been given the word immediately by Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding, so that this sacred dance must be dedicated to the sustainability of Bali and welfare of the universe,” he said.

He is unable to ensure how many times this combined rejang is implemented. However, when asked to appear again by Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding, he claimed to be ready. Ida Bhatara Asak is unwilling to return home to Asak from Bungaya village. As planned, Ida Bhatara Asak is only abiding for a day, but when about to return home, Ida Bhatara does not want until the prescribed time limit. Thus, until now Ida Bhatara from Asak village is still abiding there.

Although this combined Rejang dance looks unique, it is still considered to have drawback because the rejang dance from Timbrah village has not joined. Other than Asak, Ida Bhatara of Timbrah village is also asked to make a visit to Bungaya. Since it coincided with the preparation of Kuningan feast, Ida Bhatara at Timbrah cannot go to Bungaya. “If the rejang dance of Timbrah can join and present its rejang dance, this will become amazing. It’s a direct revelation of Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding. This usaba dangsil shows that Bungaya become the center of universe,” said Jero Dukuh Ketut Suta.

Gede Krisna Adi Widana added that he is still thinking to re-discuss with the apparatus of Timbrah order to make a visit to Bungaya. But, he admitted to take action if there has been psychical instruction from Ida Bhatara Bagus Selonding. As committee of the usaba dangsil he certainly hoped that Ida Bhatara at Timbrah can go to Bungaya. (kmb)

4

Bali News

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Countries issuing travel advice grow

IBP/kmb

Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra

DENPASAR - Following the terrorist actions occurred in a number of churches and Surabaya Police Headquarters few days ago, some countries reacted by issuing travel advice to their citizens wishing to visit Indonesia. The countries having issued travel advice are UK, Australia, the United States, Singapore, Ireland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Poland, Canada, France and the Philippines. The tourism businesspeople in Bali particularly the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Denpasar City also condemned the Surabaya bombing terror that killed dozens of people and injured several others. Chairman of PHRI Denpasar, Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra, who is familiarly called Gusde, in the regular meeting with the PHRI board of Denpasar on Wednesday (May 16), stated that tourism players belonging to the PHRI Denpasar condemned the barbaric action without humanity sense and said condolence to families of the victims.

He is also worried about the impact of the terrorist acts that will affect tourist visits to Bali. To that end, the security and comfort of destinations in Bali should be improved. He said the increase in security is meant to prevent similar action from happening on the Island of Bali becoming a favorite destination of foreign and domestic tourists. “It’s meant to prevent from spreading to Bali as it has very bad consequences. Bali had experienced it (Bali bombing) in 2002 and 2005.

Tourism has become a generating power to economic development for the people of Bali so the security must be maintained together,” he said.

Until now, Gusde asserted there has been no cancellation of tourist visits to the Island of the Gods. Today, particularly in Denpasar City the hotel occupancy rate reaches around 65 percent. He hoped all parties can work together to maintain the security and comfort of this island. It is meant to maintain the positive tourist visit growth considering in the first quarter of 2018 after the eruption of Mount Agung the tourist arrivals to Bali began to recover.

Although the destinations in the city of Denpasar remain safe to be vis-

13

Police search scandal-tainted Malaysian ex-premier’s home

PHRI asks its members to tighten supervision

ited by tourists, Gusde said the PHRI Denpasar City has taken several steps in maintaining the security. Among them, it supports National Police and Indonesian Military in eradicating terrorism in Indonesia. Internally, he acknowledged the PHRI Denpasar has also appealed to its members to maintain awareness of the surrounding environment cooperation with local security authorities such as the nearest police station. If there are any suspicious things, they should be reported to police. Tourism businesspeople, government and society must also work together by becoming a public relation that convey a convincing information to prospective tourists that Bali stays safe and comfortable to visit, especially the city of Denpasar.

“Increase the awareness and security by checking and patrolling in each hotel area and remain friendly and courteous in reprimanding guests.

Besides, it needs to regularly check the existing security system and tools so that they can be optimized. Alert security guard at each access to the entrance gate into the hotel area,” explained Gusde.

He suggested to always keeping an eye on cars and motorcycles entering the hotel area. Supervision in the entry area of ring 1 should use a gate detector or metal detector. Additionally, regular patrolling throughout the area should be intensified and make sure the identity or passport of guests upon check-in and may not result in fear for guests. According to him, reprimanding or greeting guests with courtesy and friendliness remains to become a priority of hotel security officers in carrying out their tasks.

“We can also do analysis. For example, it can be done based on the estimated arrivals when guests make a reservation and do checking to hotel vendors that usually use a box vehicle,” said Gusde.

Furthermore, his association asked hoteliers in Denpasar, especially in Sanur, to be more vigilant and keep doing the SOP of security. For example, hotels may not ignore the checking at hotel entry point gates. If the hotel is located in an open area or has a beach area, the security checks are still enforced by activating metal detector.

In addition, they are prohibited from using fireworks and should optimize the installation of CCTV to improve surveillance so that all suspicious activities can be monitored. Besides, the security team should do security tasks more intensively. He will also make coordination with all parties including carrying out instructions from the National Police, Indonesian Military, chief of customary village and headmen to check the migrant population, and the boarding house owners should be more vigilant for 2x24 hours and must report when there are guests. (kmb42)

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police searched the home of scandal-tainted former premier Najib Razak on Thursday as the new government probes a massive graft scandal after sweeping to power in historic elections.

IBP/kmb26

Inspection and security at the entrance of Bali is not only done by police but also by Indonesian Military (TNI).

After bomb terror, TNI backs up security at Gilimanuk Harbor

NEGARA - After a series of bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, relevant apparatuses tightened security at the harbor. Inspection and security at the entrance of Bali is not only done by police but also by Indonesian Military (TNI). The joint assembly of the TNI and National Police personnel in the Gilimanuk Harbor was held on Tuesday afternoon (May 15).

The assembly attended by Commander of the 1617/Jembrana Military District Djefri Marsono Hanok, Jembrana Police Chief Budi Perdamaean Saragih and 741 Mechanical Battalion Commander Rudy Markiano Simangunsong and 1617-03/Melaya Military Region Commander Adwan, Naval Post Commander Agus and Gilimanuk Harbor Police Chief I Nyoman Subawa.

Commander of the 1617/Jembrana Military District, Djefri Marsono Hanok, in the joint assembly delivered that Gilimanuk Harbor is one of the entrances of Bali. On that account, we should apply strict security especially related to the occurrence of a series of suicide bombing in East Java and other regions.

Security activities and supervision carried out by the TNI is a back up against the National Police in implementing security tasks.

The TNI strengthened its security with the addition of four members from the naval post, one member of the IX/3-2 Jembrana Sub-Detachment of Military Po-

lice, from 1617/Jembrana Military District Command with five members and Mechanical Division of 741/GN Infantry Battalion as many as 10 people.

“We secure every inch of Bali Island, so to the armed personnel of the Indonesian Military and National Police are expected to be more observant and vigilant in helping supervise and be able to escort our colleagues inspecting the goods and letters both passengers in the vehicles,” said the Military District Commander.

Jembrana Police Chief, Budi Perdamaean Saragih, asserted that security in the Gilimanuk Harbor is always able to synergize with the Indonesian Military so that the implementation of security can always run well and compactly.

Previously, Jembrana Police Chief stated that in order to maintain the stability of security after the occurrence of a series of bomb terror actions in East Java, security officers from the police ranks in Jembrana district added security as many as 50 personnel

to be alerted.

In Gilimanuk Harbor area covering Post I and Post II, the Jembrana Police increased security personnel at Gilimanuk Harbor from 23 personnel to 27 personnel. The security is also backed up by ten mobile brigade personnel equipped with long-barrel gun from Bali Police Mobile Brigade Unit of Battalion C in Gilimanuk. “The increased personnel are carried out with enhanced security. We are watching the entrance to the Island of Bali,” he explained.

In addition to the headquarters and Gilimanuk Harbor, other vital objects such as places of worship as well as other places becoming the target of terrorism perpetrators are also tightened.

Implementation of security at the Gilimanuk Harbor is also initiated with coordination measures with the Gilimanuk Harbor authority. Besides, the joint officers also directly monitor the inspection of goods and passengers at each checkpoint at Gilimanuk Harbor. (kmb26)

Mohd RASFAN / AFP

This picture taken on May 16, 2018 shows members of the Royal Malaysia Police standing at the entrance of former prime minister Najib Razak’s residence in Kuala Lumpur.

At least a dozen police vehicles converged on Najib’s family compound in the capital Kuala Lumpur in the early hours, with a number of officers entering the home, an AFP journalist saw.

Najib’s lawyer said officers had searched the ex-leader’s home and an apartment for over six hours as part of an investigation into money-laundering, but no arrests were made.

The new government, headed by 92year-old Mahathir Mohamad who secured a stunning election victory last week, has vowed to probe allegations Najib oversaw the looting of a sovereign wealth fund.

“The police just took some handbags and some clothes,” lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal told AFP, adding that Najib had cooperated with the officers.

“We have no indication yet if police will make any arrest.”

Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor, deeply

unpopular due to her reported love of costly overseas shopping trips, was known to have a vast collection of designer clothes and handbags.

The search came just hours after politician Anwar Ibrahim -- a key figure in the alliance that swept to power, who had been thrown in jail under Najib’s rule -- was released, triggering euphoric scenes.

It is an ominous sign for Najib, whose all-powerful ruling coalition was ousted after governing Malaysia for six decades.

The unexpected result has been blamed in large part on public anger over the scandal involving the fund, called 1MDB. Najib established 1MDB and is accused of deep involvement in the looting -- charges he has repeatedly denied. Nearly $700 million had appeared in his personal bank accounts while billions more are unaccounted for. (afp)

Nicaragua’s Ortega holds crisis talks with opposition after unrest

MANAGUA - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega opened talks on Wednesday with opposition groups in a bid to quell a month of antigovernment unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed.

The Church-mediated dialogue, which got underway in the capital Managua, involved representatives of university students who are leading the protests against Ortega as well as some from business groups and unions.

Ortega told the

room that the aim of the talks was to “get past this tragic moment” and restore “peace” to the country, one of Latin America’s poorest.

He was however interrupted by student representatives calling him a “murderer” and urging “an end to the repression.”

“We have come to demand you order the immediate halt of the attacks. You’re the boss of the paramilitaries, of the troops, of the mobs backing the government,” said a leader of the student coalition, Lester Aleman.

The unrest was the worst

faced by Ortega in his past 11 years as president.

The protests were initially triggered by an aborted attempt to reform the near-bankrupt social security system, but quickly morphed into a street movement demanding Ortega’s ouster over a range of grievances.

Rights groups say

at least 58 people were killed, the majority of them protesters.

Ortega said Nicaragua’s police now have orders to not open fire.

He also said that “the deaths were on all sides,” not only that

of the protesters.

Late Wednesday, foreign minister Denis Moncada announced an 11-strong delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights would arrive in Managua on Thursday to observe the situation on the ground.

The government had at first rejected such a mission while a parliament-created commission probed the deaths. (afp)

An anti-government demonstrator shouts slogans in the surroundings of the Episcopal’s Conference Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima, in Managua on May 16, 2018.

14

Fashion

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Bali News

International

In wartime Yemen, artisans keep up the shine on gemstones

Her fingers bleed from beneath the nail beds, but sitting at her workstation, filing Yemeni gemstones on a spinning wheel, Safaa al-Faqih is at peace in a country for too long at war. In green canvas trainers and a black niqab, the young artisan -- one of the few Yemeni women in her field -- runs a blue Yemeni agate through a hot flame, turning it slowly with her bare hands as she fits it into a mold.

“Every day, these stones tell me a different story,” Faqih told AFP. “I discover something new every day.” While the stone is still hot, she gathers her long black abaya and moves to a grinding wheel, where she runs her finger over the deep blue edges every second to feel for their smoothness.

The stone slowly morphs from an uneven sphere to a perfectly symmetrical emerald-cut agate that gleams in the light. “I love this craft,” the young, brown-eyed artisan said. “Some- t i m e s m y fingers are all cut, and sometimes I get sick.

“But I love sitting among precious stones. I love the stones themselves. It’s a true passion for me.”

That passion is part of a long love story between Yemen and precious stones. What is today modern Yemen was once home to the legendary Queen of Sheba, and it was there that she found her famed jewels and gold, which she later gifted to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Thousands of years later, war threatens to erase that history.

- Yemeni agate -

Yemen’s rich cultural scene is slowly being eroded by a brutal war, with the historic town of Zabid, the old city of Sanaa and the old walled city of Shibam, known as the “Manhattan of the Desert”, now on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list. Yemeni agate -- or “aqeeq” in the local dialect -- is a trademark of the traditional silver jewellery the country is famed for, adorning rings, necklaces, women’s bracelets and, for men, curved daggers worn tucked into a belt.

The traditional Yemeni men’s dagger, or jambiyya, has for decades been embellished with locally-quarried agate. The stone carries particular significance among Muslim communities, as the Prophet Mohammed is said to have worn a silver ring bearing the stone, which is hard, chemicalresistant a n d

takes on different shades around the world.

Yemen also has a tradition of jewellery-making that dates back hundreds -- some historians even say thousands -- of years, joining both the country’s Muslim communities and the minority Jewish population, known for their craftsmanship.

Until the war brought the country’s rich crafts industry to a halt, Sanaa in particular was famed for its silversmiths and embroidery artisans creating Yemen’s trademark shawls.

In 2015, the country’s northern Huthi rebels -- who today control the capital, Sanaa, unchallenged -- drove the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi south, prompting the intervention of a regional military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

Just a quarter of artisans are still working in Sanaa’s old market, where the majority of gemstones were sold, and the men who previously dominated the industry have mostly gone in search of other work. Faqih has lost most of her clients, who are unable to afford gemstones in wartime, and now sells her wares to a few family members or neighbours.

left. The artisan credits her father for encouraging her to fight for a place in her field. In 2011, Faqih and a few of her peers pushed for women to be allowed into the maledominated government vocational school. They succeeded, and joined the graduating class of that year.

“There was some opposition, from men especially, that I do this job. My parents were supportive, though,” she said. “I went on because I love this. I love this craft.

That’s the truth.”

Inundated by water of Lake Buyan

Farmers suffer losses worth IDR 1.7 billion

The Yemen war has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the government’s war against the Iran-backed Huthis. The conflict has triggered what the United Nations says is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Millions are trapped in a country at the brink of famine, as ports remain blockaded and the country’s main international airport is largely shut down. (afp)

SINGARAJA - The overflowing water of Lake Buyan, Pancasari village, Sukasada, has long soaked dozens of hectares of local farmland. The natural phenomenon has caused losses of up to billions of rupiahs. Responding to the phenomenon, district government is going to disburse the assistance of seeds.

IBP/kmb23

The garbage problem in South Kuta is indeed endless.

Residents protest against garbage piles at Gang Kencana Jimbaran

- Love of the craft -

It is in Sanaa that Faqih first learned her craft and where she continues to practice, creating pieces to meet whatever demand is

IBP/net

3

Friday, May 18, 2018

MANGUPURA - The garbage problem in South Kuta is indeed endless. Due to garbage, a number of residents even did protest action as it exudes stench around their location. In fact, the stench originates from the accumulated garbage disposed in one of the residents’ land at Gang Kencana, Jalan Karangmas Sejahtera Jimbaran.

Protest of the residents was made through a letter of objection signed by several residents submitted to the South Kuta subdistrict head on Wednesday (May 16). The residents were accepted by Section Head of South Kuta Peace and Order, Made Subamia, marked by signing a kind of petition.

According to a representative of the residents when met at South Kuta subdistrict head office, Nyoman Suati, the condition has been going on since last January. The garbage disposal is done in one of the lands owned by the local resident with the initials WSL. In addition to their family’s garbage, WSL also has asked one of the garbage companies to dispose of garbage onto the land belonging to his families.

Trough the letter, the residents liv-

ing at Gang Kencana Jimbaran asked for help to the subdistrict government to resolve the problem of waste disposal at Karang Mas Sejahtera housing complex at Gang Kencana Jimbaran. “Since the location on the roadside, it is not very good to see and its smells are very disturbing.

There are residents that should burn incense stick every day to eliminate the garbage smell. Moreover, during dry season the smells are very disturbing,” said Suati.

Headman of Jimbaran, Ketut Rimbawan, when asked for his confirmation justified the garbage problem. His authority has tried to mediate by summoning WSL as the land owner. However, the concerned was not present. In addition, he also asked local hamlet to approach the landowner to continuously work on resolving the problem.

Meanwhile, Section Head of South Kuta Peace and Order, Made Subamia, said his section would immediately follow up the complaints of residents by coming down to the location. In addition, it will also coordinate it with the headman of Jimbaran who had handled the problem. (kmb23)

Based on the observation on Wednesday (May 16), the water of the lake adjacent to Lake Tamblingan, Banjar subdistrict, was still soaking the farmland at Buyan and Dasong hamlet. Absolutely no farmers are on the move. Their cultivated land previously planted with vegetables and strawberries have been overgrown with bushes. Besides, the water also still inundates some residents’ settlements, but it is not so serious.

A local farmer, Luh Sutami, said the lake water has started to recede since two weeks ago. However, such condition is unable to make them relief. “Since it does not rain for some days, the water indeed slightly recedes, but only a little bit,” she said.

The phenomenon that also occurred last year has caused farmers to dither. They must still pay land lease though getting no harvest yields. “Many farmers lease farmland but now they fail to harvest,” she said.

Faced with such conditions, farmers cannot do much. Their income only relies on the non-submerged land that is not too broad. “Now, we can only wait. If recedes, we should plant again,” she added.

The dropped vegetable harvests have an impact on the supply to Pancasari Market. It decreased to trigger the spike in prices. Fortunately, not long ago

Lake Buyan

there were supplies from Candikuning village, Baturiti, Tabanan. “Now, more vegetables are brought in from Candikuning. Usually, they were supplied by farmers here (around Lake Buyan—Ed),” said a local merchant, Luh Arini.

She said the minimal supply just happened to strawberry. The price reached IDR 45,000 per kilogram, increasing from the previous price at IDR 22,000.

“Usually, we got 20 kilograms from farmers each day.

But now, we only get 2 kilograms, while the quality is not good,” she said.

Division Head of Horticulture at the Buleleng Agriculture Agency, I Gede Subudi, said that according to the results of data collection, the submerged land reached 18 hectares. In details, they consist of 12 hectares of strawberry, 3 hectares of vegetables, 2 hectares of tomatoes as well as peppers and chili of respectively half a hectare. The total loss reaches IDR 1,752,000,000. “This is located at Dasong and Buyan hamlet,” he said.

This official from Busungbiu said the district government has allocated the assistance of seeds valued at IDR 23,400,000. However, it is limited to strawberry on the grounds as a prominent commodity. “It has been allocated in the parent budget of this year. Meanwhile, the other seeds, such as vegetables, can still be attempted by farmers,” he explained.

He also stated that affected farmlands belong to 44 farmers. Distribution of the assistance will be commenced with verification. “Later on, farmers will be collected first,” he concluded. (kmb45)

IBP/kmb45

2

Bali News

Friday, May 18, 2018

International

Activities

International

Cremation of Grandpa Jegog accompanied with Jegog gamelan

THE artist having contributed to Jegog art from Sangkaragung village, Jembrana, I Ketut Suwentra (Grandpa Jegog) passed away. The death of the friendly person known to be eccentric is not only the grief of the family, but also the people of Jembrana as well as the artists at home and overseas.

During his lifetime, Suwentra consistently developed the Jegog art to become the pride of the people of Jembrana and Bali. The love of this Makepung Dance choreographer to Jegog is evidenced by the establishment of Suar Agung Foundation having given birth to the Jegog gamelan players up to seven generations.

This Jegog maestro left a message to his children and all the artists to keep Jegog reverberating.

Until the end of his life to his cremation at Sangkaragung cemetery on Wednesday (May 16), Jegog gamelan also came along until the cremation procession was completed. The Jegog musical accompaniment presenting the Sidakarya composition of Grandpa Jegog was presented by the generations he taught. In addition to Jegog gamelan, Putri Bamboo Dance was also performed by the mourners from various regions in Bali and overseas.

“This (jegog accompaniment) is spontaneous and indeed his request when consulting to his soul through a medium. He also asked to include his cowboy hat and favorite glasses,” said I Gede Oka Artha Negara, Suwen-

tra’s first son when met on the sidelines of the cremation.

One thing repeatedly submitted to Oka is that the Jegog should be preserved especially by the Suar Agung Foundation. Therefore, Artha Negara currently working in the United States continues his father’s talent, desiring to return to his homeland. Among the five sons of Suwentra, Oka Artha Negara has the most outstanding talent and has composed and performed the dance for several times.

This father of two children currently taking a doctorate (PhD) program at the University of California recognized the figure of his father as well as the friends of Suwentra.

The most memorable moment is while creating the Tiying Sangkep Dance. Through the dance depicting the leadership becoming a role model and giving the commander sticks, he feels to get united with his father. “He wants to preserve the Jegog pursuant to his best so that the whole world knows,” added Oka accompanied by his younger brother, Komang Wisnu Wardana.

Suwentra or better known as Grandpa Jegog died on Thursday (May 10) at Sanglah Hospital. His body arrived at his home at Sangkaragung village on Saturday (May 12). While being laid down, a number of friends, guests and officials in Bali attended the final tribute to this Jegog maestro. The artist born in Jembrana on December 12, 1948 died of lung cancer. Other than taking part in Jegog art creativity, he is also a lecturer at Nagoya College of Music. (olo)

IBP/olo

Jegog gamelan also came along until the cremation procession was completed.

Increase of dollar has no impact on crafters in Bali

Export lethargic due to weak competitiveness

DENPASAR - The increase in dollar does not affect the entrepreneurs of handicraft products such as woven fabrics. Moreover, the raw materials belong to domestic product. This is recognized by several textile entrepreneurs in Bali.

However, the exports of products from Bali are still sluggish due to weak competitiveness of the entrepreneurs.

One of the owners of the Bali

Tarum textile industry, I Made Andika Putra, admitted to having no problem with the rise of the dollar. Its raw materials are purchased by using rupiah and remain to be produced in the country.

The marketing has now been getting better because many tourists come directly to his location to buy clothes. What he fears is the bomb incidents in Surabaya.

“Hopefully, it will not have bad

IBP/kmb

Bali Representative Office of Bank Indonesia, Causa Iman Karana.

impact on Bali,” he said.

All the orders of the Bali Tarum products come from foreign countries such as Europe, America, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Japan, California, Africa, Singapore and Malaysia.

Another weaving business owner, Ketut Wiadnyana, also expressed the same thing. “There is indeed a decline but not too problematic because we always innovate in the product. On that account, the weaving cloth lovers (market segmentation) are still hunting for quality, limited, and innovating products like songket, natural batik of Jembrana and songket without connection (songket of Negara) in which we have patented the motif through IPR (intellectual property rights),” he explained.

According to him, the craftsmen with the local market segment will not experience any problems with the dollar increase. As evidence, last week he participated in the exhibition to bring along the songket of Jembrana and it remained to draw many enthusiasts. “Probably, the problem may arise in the matter of raw material like yarn whose

price will rise,” he added.

Most of the orders received

by Putrimas come from domestic consumers. However, there are also from overseas such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Sluggish exports of the products from Bali, according to the Head of the Bali Industry and Trade Agency, Putu Astawa, happens because the competitiveness of Bali entrepreneurs is weak. Based on the statistical data, in the first quarter of 2018 the export rose as much as 13.71 percent (yoy). It increased, however, in non-significant number as Bali’s import increased in the first quarter of 2018 amounting to 180.36 percent (yoy).

According to the data from the Bali Industry and Trade Agency, the export of Bali in 2017 rose 18.34 percent. This increase is lower than the export in 2016 that rose 19.29 percent at that time.

The exports were dominated by agricultural commodities by 55.17 percent, the second largest was craft (25.43 percent), industrial outputs (18.78 percent) and plantation yield (0.33 percent).

In addition to weak competitive-

ness, the market penetration ability to other countries and maintenance of the existing markets are not optimal. Market penetration is not optimal because of limited funding support. Therefore, the promotion should be intensified.

He said the rise of dollar has an impact on the entrepreneurs whose raw materials are imported. “The companies that do not import raw materials are surely profitable,” he concluded.

Indeed, the complaints on raw material are often conveyed by the artisans. The government also has a KITE (ease of import for export destination) to facilitate entrepreneurs in getting raw materials.

However, the difficulty of raw material is not only experienced by entrepreneurs to get raw materials from overseas but also in the country.

Head of the Bali Representative Office of Bank Indonesia, Causa Iman Karana, doubted if the dollar’s rise is detrimental to Balinese businessmen. According to him, those who are not benefited are the importers. “Probably, the exporters are more benefited,” he concluded. (kmb24)

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Friday, May 18, 2018

Romancing the maid: Indian film tackles taboo As a child, Rohena Gera never understood why her family’s live-in nanny, the “woman she loved like a second mother” was kept at arm’s length by her Indian family. “I didn’t understand why this person who took care of me, who I loved... was so separate.” In a country where millions of servants sleep on the floor of the homes they work in, the idea that a “master” might fall for the meek low-caste woman who is there to cook and scrub for him seemed “inconceivable”, she said.

But that is the premise of Gera’s new film, “Sir”, an upstairsdownstairs love story of a kind she says has never been seen in an Indian movie. That the maid is a widow -- whose lives can be severely circumscribed in India -- adds another layer of taboo to the tenderly told tale which premiered at the Cannes film festival Monday.

Young property developer Ashwin and his maid Ratna may live “under the same roof but they are in completely different worlds,” said Gera. “They do not even speak the same language,” with him coming from the English-speaking Mumbai elite and her a poor villager. Even if by some miracle he married her, his family and friends might object to sharing a table with her.

Nor would she “be able to sit on a sofa

with his sister”, Gera told AFP. - Class and caste system “Indian society is pretty rigid. It not so much the caste system as class these days which plays out as caste... And we accept it. No one is doing anything actively to challenge it.” The director saw the divide more starkly when she returned from college in the US. “You see these dramatic inequalities but I didn’t know what to do about it.

“I couldn’t be holier than thou because I am part of the problem,” Gera admitted. So rather than making “some preachy story or tell people what to think”, instead she spun a subtly revealing study of thwarted love. It is more Bergman than Bollywood, but as Gera joked, “it does have two dance numbers”. “As you get older, you begin to realise how love operates, how we allow ourselves to love who we love,” said the filmmaker, whose documentary “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was about arranged marriages.

“They are both victims in a way. He is in his gilded cage of privilege but he can’t live his dreams.” Ratna the maid, played by rising star Tillotama Shome, is in some ways freer than him, Gera claimed, fired by a fierce determination to make the best of her circumstances. “People not familiar with India might think, ‘Oh my god, she sleeps on the floor in this little tiny room,” but in Indian terms she is in a relatively privileged situation for a maid, the director insisted.

- ‘Widows seen as cursed’ “She is earning money and she has her dreams. She is not judging where she sleeps. It is not so different to what happened in England and Europe a few generations ago.” Following those dreams as a widow sets her apart in a country where patriarchal attitudes have become more entrenched under the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Widows are still seen as cursed or bringers of bad luck by some, Gera said. “They are denied a lot of joy and from wearing certain colours... Even in the supposedly progressive cities I have friends whose mothers lost their husbands in their forties and they never really moved on. You can’t date in India if you are a widow and you have a child.

“For a widow to have desire is seen as preposterous.” “I don’t know how people will take that,” said Gera, who hopes the film will be seen widely in India. “I think it will make some people extremely uncomfortable, which isn’t a bad thing. But I think it will give others hope,” she said.

But in the film Ratna -- who has been brought up to be docile and deferential, anticipating her employer’s every whim -- manages not just to free herself but also her master, without losing her dignity.

The film was warmly received by critics, with The Guardian calling it a “delicately observed and attractive drama with some great Mumbai cityscapes and an excellent performance from Shome”.

The French press was equally smitten by the actress best known for “Monsoon Wedding”.

With two Indian women directors selected for Cannes for the first time ever this year, Indian indie cinema seems to be on the up. “It is a good year for Indian women at a very bad time for Indian women,” Gera said dryly. “Our voices need to be heard.” (afp)

Black actresses brave downpour to protest at Cannes CANNES - Sixteen black and mixed race actresses staged a glamorous red carpet protest at the Cannes film festival Wednesday to denounce everyday racism in the French industry.

Led by “Bamako” star Aissa Maiga, they also launched their new book “Being black is not my job” (“Noire n’est pas mon me-

tier”), denouncing the prejudice they have suffered from directors and casting agents.

But the heavens opened as they stepped out onto the red carpet from their cars wearing spectacular gowns by Balmain’s mixed-race designer Olivier Rousteing.

Their march follows hot on the heels of an historic red carpet

demonstration Saturday by 82 Hollywood stars, women directors, producers and scriptwriters, led by Cate Blanchett, demanding equal pay and status.

“I was moved to act by the spirit of the times,” Maiga told AFP, who said quotas “could be a possible option” for combatting the lack of black faces on screen, even if that

would spark vehement opposition in France.

One of the actors who took part, Nadege Beausson-Diagne, said in the book that she had been asked if she spoke “African” at a casting.

She was also told, “You can’t play her, she’s a lawyer” and “Luckily you have fine features and you are not negroid, not too

black...”

The actress, who appeared in France’s biggest ever film at the box office, “Welcome to the Sticks” (“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”), said she was also told she was “not African enough to be African” and that “for a black, you are really very intelligent. You should have been white.” (afp)

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Friday, May 18, 2018

FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Atletico Madrid’s French forward Antoine Griezmann (C) celebrates with the trophy with his family, (from L-R) his brother Théo Grizemann, his wife Erika Choperana, his baby Mia Griezmann, his father Alain Griezmann and his mother Isabelle Lopes, after the UEFA Europa League final football match between Olympique de Marseille and Club Atletico de Madrid at the Parc OL stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon on May 16, 2018.

Griezmann fires Atletico Madrid to Europa League title

LYON - Antoine Griezmann was the hero for Atletico Madrid as the French striker scored twice in their 3-0 win over Marseille in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Lyon, allowing his club to win the trophy for the third time in nine seasons.

It is Griezmann’s first major title with Atletico, and a fitting way to bow out if he leaves at the season’s end, with Barcelona tipped as his next destination.

Griezmann -- brought up in Macon, just 70 kilometres from Lyon -- scored once in each half, his lethal finishes coming either side of Marseille losing Dimitri Payet to injury, the French team’s captain coming off in tears.

Griezmann now has 29 goals

this season, although it was Gabi’s late strike that sealed the victory.

“This is a reward for me after I left home aged 14, for all the work I have put in, the suffering,” said Griezmann, who has spent his whole career in Spain but had only previously won one Spanish Super Cup. Atletico’s triumph comes after agonising defeats to Real Madrid in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016. They had previ-

ously won the Europa League in 2010 and again in 2012, the latter coming just six months after Diego Simeone’s appointment as coach.

Simeone, who had to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban, called the victory a reward for his side’s hard work and even expressed hope that Griezmann could be convinced to stay.

“This was just confirmation of what Griezmann has been doing year after year,” said the Argentine.

“I hope he is happy with us. I have no doubt that there are certain things that could make it more likely that he stays.

“He has played three finals with

us, has won two, and so that shows that he is not far away from his objective of regularly playing finals.

“We are not far away in sporting terms from teams who are more powerful than us.”

Marseille had been desperate to win the second European trophy in their history, on French soil, 25 years after beating AC Milan in the inaugural Champions League final.

But it was a flat night for their huge support, who threatened to ruin the occasion by lighting flares and setting off firecrackers at one end of the stadium, with some even being thrown onto the pitch towards the end. The game carried

on regardless, with Rudi Garcia’s side well beaten.

“We let our chance go in the first half. Firstly, we had the best chance to go ahead, and secondly an error from us meant we fell behind,” said Garcia.

“The scoreline is harsh but the better team won.” (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.