Edisi 22 Februari 2011 | International Bali Post

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bahraini antigovernment protesters gather at Pearl Square in Manama on February 20, 2011. Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim ruling family came under increased pressure to open in-depth negotiations with the Shiiteled opposition, as protesters stayed camped out in the capital’s Pearl Square.

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PHDI reminds hotel circles Nyepi package should not be excessive PAGE 8 AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID

‘Unknown’ hits box office gold

Bahrain protesters seek to overthrow royal family Associated Press Writer

MANAMA, Bahrain – A group of protesters on Monday called for the ouster of Bahrain’s entire ruling monarchy as part of sweeping demands to call off the weeklong uprising in the tiny, but strategically important Gulf nation.

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Tensions are still running high in Bahrain after seesaw battles that saw riot police open fire on protesters trying to reclaim landmark Pearl

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Square last week. At least seven people have been killed and hundreds injured in the clashes since the unrest spilling across the Arab world

reached the Gulf last week.

Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which is the main U.S. military counterweight to Iran’s efforts to expand its armed forces and reach into the Gulf.

The manifesto Monday from a group calling itself “Youth of Feb. 14” — after the day of the first marches — apparently seeks to

stake out an uncompromising stance before possible talks between the opposition and the monarchy.

“We demand the overthrow of the oppressive Al Khalifa regime,” the manifesto said, referring to the ruling royal family. “The people will choose the system they will be subjected to.”

Continued on page 6

Philippine volcano erupts, showering ash on town Agence France Presse

MANILA – A Philippine volcano erupted on Monday showering an entire town with ash, although there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said. A large ash explosion from Bulusan, a 1,559-metre (5,115foot) volcano, drifted south to cover Irosin, a town of 46,000 people, said Harriet Sayson, of the civil defence operations centre in nearby Legaspi city. “There’s zero visibility at Irosin at the moment, and we can’t get in touch with officials there,” Sayson told AFP by telephone.

She said civil defence staff were in the town checking for damage or casualties, but none had been reported so far. No evacuations had been ordered, she added.

State volcanologist Ramil Vaquilar told

AFP rumbling sounds accompanied an ash column that rose between two and 2.5 kilometres (1.2-1.6 miles) above the crater.

“An eruption occurred at 9:12 (0112 GMT),” he said, adding no further major activity had been observed since.

Bulusan is among 23 active volcanoes in the Philippines, which is located in the socalled Ring of Fire of volcanic activity around the Pacific. Bulusan last erupted between March and June of 2006.

The 1,559-metre (5,115-foot) Mount Bulusan volcano emits ash into the air as it erupts in the town of Irosin, Sorsogon province on February 21, 2011.

AFP PHOTO/JOVIC EVASCO

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International

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bali News

Bitten by a dog two years ago, a rabies suspect patient dies Incubation period of rabies virus within the body cannot be predicted. There are ones taking for months to reach the brain, while few others take for years. They all depend on the location of the wound, size of the wound until the number of virus entry. Such a case happened to one of the residents of Tabu Hamlet, Songan, Kintamani Bangli, Dewen, 22. The man had been hospitalized in Sanglah since Friday (Feb 18) and died on Sunday (Feb 20).

Dewen was taken to Sanglah Hospital as a rabies suspect patient. He had received treatment in Nusa Indah Room. Secretary of the Rabies Management Team of Sanglah Hospital, Ken Wirasandi, when contacted on Sunday said that Dewen had a record of being bitten by a dog about two years ago on his leg. He was bitten by a wild dog that died a day after biting Dewen. “The patient did not get the anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) and not wash the wound pursuant to procedures for handling rabies,” said Ken. Three days before rushed to Sanglah Hospital, Dewen already shown off phobia of water and

air. He always complained about shortness of breath when seeing water or feeling the wind. When treated, Dewen indicated the symptoms of anxiety and rampage. “Similarly, the patient has gone through hydrophobia and aerophobia as well as salivated a lot,” said Ken. The body of Dewen was directly taken home by his family.

Meanwhile, to ascertain whether Dewen was positive to rabies, according to Ken, his party was awaiting for the result of laboratory test. In 2011, it was recorded that six rabies victims died consisting of one victim in January and five others in February. (san)

Tackle Rabies

IDR 903,6 Million For Stray Dogs ”Jail” Denpasar (Bali Post)

In the 2011 Budget, the program to tackle rabies will be a priority to the Bali Animal Husbandry Agency. To do so the Agency is planning to build 753 units of stray dogs cages. One unit is predicted to finish IDR 1,2 million and so IDR 903,6 million of the Bali State Budget and Expenses will be used to make these “jails”. Head of the Agency, Ir. I Putu Sumantra, M.App, Sc., stated this to Bali Post last Sunday (20/2).

According to Sumantra one jail will be built on each village in Bali. After this he hoped there will be no more stray dogs lurking around, “Remembering rabies has took many lives, I hope all Bali residents will participate actively in succeeding this program. Such as participating in capturing stray dogs in their villages.” He also warned those who

pet dogs to keep their dogs away from stray dogs so they won’t get rabies infected.

Besides building these cages, the Agency with each regency’s agency will intensify the mass vaccination program. So far at least 300 thousand dogs in Bali are targets for mass vaccination mostly booster. For this there will be socialization, operational fee and more. The Bali Government predicts they will need minimum IDR 25 billion, “Mass dogs vaccinations are a continuation to the mass vaccination that did not go optimally on year 2010 due to late vaccination operational fee liquidation from the Agriculture Ministry IDR 14 billion.” It is clarified the vaccination will go on as plan if the promised operational fee did not come late from the central government, “I hope, the liquidation process won’t be late again like last year.” (kmb13)

IBP/Dar

The renovation of Dipta Stadium in Gianyar.

Renovation of Dipta Stadium exterior cost IDR 5 billion Gianyar (Bali Post)—

In 2011, Gianyar Regency obtains rehabilitation assistance for Dipta Stadium, Buruan from the Ministry of Youth and Sports worth IDR 5 billion. With such amount of fund, the regency government is only able to rehabilitate the stadium exterior only. In the meantime, the interior is still waiting for help in the next phase.

Based on information gathered on Sunday (Feb 20), the rehabilitation project of the stadium by Regency Government worked on by contractor from January 24, 2011 was only carried out on stadium exterior because the fund of IDR 5 billion was also allocated

to establish a circuit track located outside the Dipta Stadium. The development with the assistance fund was not focused on the rehabilitation of the stadium building. The budget of IDR 5 billion was allocated to rehabilitate the stadium and establish a circuit.

When contacted, the Head of Gianyar Public Works, Nyoman Nuadi, mentioned that stadium rehabilitation this year would be performed on the stadium exterior spending approximately IDR 2.5 billion, while the rest will be allocated for the construction of circuit road.

The IDR 5 billion of fund obtained was based on proposal submitted to Minister of Youth and Sports with

the initial amount of IDR 30 billion. “However, in this year’s stage we only get at the amount of IDR 5 billion,” he explained.

Of the IDR 2.5 billion of fund for the stadium rehabilitation, Nuadi claimed to have not been maximal. With the budget, the construction covered would be the creation of Balinese ornament on each pole of the stadium, partition of administrative room on the southern and eastern section as well as some infrastructures outside the stadium.

“Stadium interior cannot be worked on this year with the amount of the fund. Hopefully, it could be resumed and accomplished in the next stage,” he said. (kmb16)

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Bali News

International

Three Credit Cards Robbers Captured

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Landslide, Jro Pengentuh Dam Broken Negara (Bali Post) –

Denpasar (Bali Post) –

The effort to reveal the credit card robbery took place in Kuta has given its result. Kuta Police force led by Adjunct Police Commissioner I Gede Ganefo, SH, MM, successfully caught three of them, Catur Sudarmawan, Jalam Fahrudin and Gede Adi Purwanta. The crime group was captured at where they work last Tuesday (15/2) and now placed at Kuta Police to be investigated intensively.

Head of Bali Police Public Relation, Great Commissioner Gde Sugianyar last Sunday (20/2) stated that the case was after deep investigation for more than a week, “The three accused has been jailed. Now investigators are investigating them intensively and developing the case.”

It started with the many cases reported to the police with the last one coming from Meghan Lee Tailor from Australia. Victim admitted her credit card has been robbed and so Ganefo commanded his of-

ficers to investigate straight away.

Victim admitted had left a credit card while shopping at Circle-K in Kuta as she was on a hurry and forgot to take it. From that police then went to the shop and two Circle-K workers (Jamal Farudin and Gede Adi Purwanta, red) were checked.

It was then revealed what has happened, “The accused used the tourist weak point. When they knew she left it they used it.”

The credit card was then given to Catur and he used it to shop in several shops. After getting the

item, Catur then sell it again so it can be cashed straight away. Then these cashes were then given to the two other accused, “There were many tourists becoming victims.

This is seen from the evidences found.”

The evidences found were other 12 credit cards owned by other foreigners, Samsung phone, transaction bills and IDR 150 thousand.

For further investigation, accused and evidences were then confiscated by the Police, “The case is being developed further.” (kmb21)

Pecatu Cross Circuit Complained Not only tourist accommodations that grew at Pecatu Village. A motor cross circuit is also built at Melasti Road, Labuan Sait and being used every night causing residents and tourists staying in this area uncomfortable.

According to Madame Kadek, a resident that lived near the place said the circuit has operated these past few months. The circuit’s area reached hectares and not only local or domesetic people who used it but also foreigners. She said at night it kept being used and the owner has planned to put lighting on the circuit around 20 to 30 units. The activity especially at night time is very disturbing residents and tourists, “It’s very noisy in the evening. Little kids even cried because they can’t sleep.”

Similar to her sayings, a resident who doesn’t want to be known its name, said the location of the circuit is actually limited as in it’s not allowed to be built. Yet not known why it was used for that and it is suspected illegal.

Who is the owner then? It is said it’s an celebrity from Japan but the owner was hardly coming there, “It is said it is someone from Japan and likes to do motor cross.”

Pecatu Village Head I Made Sumartha confirmed the situation last Sunday (20/2) yet denied that this place is a circuit, “It is not a circuit but better for a motor cross training. Youngsters also used it as a training place.”

Sumartha said that he is trying to find a way to solve the complains one of them asking the owner to arrange training timings by meaning

IBP/Dedi

The sign which lead to the motorcross circuit. not using it at night time, “We have asked to make sure it’s not disturbing the residents around. By not doing it at night.”

When asked about legality,

After one year the dam of Tukadaya River in Batuagung Village, Jembrana was rehabbed it has been broken again. It is suspected to have happened due to a landslide that happened last week. The condition affected badly a number of rice fields in Subak Tamblang located above it.

A number of residents on Sunday (20/2) stated there were three landslide points on the sout of the Jero Pengentuh Dam. The dam is a main watering plant for Subak Tamblang. Agung Putra, who’s a resident there, stated the

Sumartha admitted did not know but this location has been used only for training. He also confirmed the Japanese owner contracted a resident’s land for motor cross training. (kmb25)

most damaged was on the split of the river and the guarder.

Around 25 meters of it broken while the supporter was 15 meters damaged.

In other hand one owner of a rice field above the supporter confirmed the many waters being thrown away to the river.

Even in general days the irrigation went dry even though there is a simple dam on the soils yet waters kept coming down and wasted. This month farmers are getting ready to plant rice and now it seemed delayed. It is hoped government will fix it straight away so it can function again. (kmb26)

Tens of hectares of forests at enyaringan damaged and looted Negara, DenPost—

Mangupura (Bali Post) –

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Condition of forests at Penyaringan, Mendoyo, is now getting worse. Approximately 65 hectares of forests have degraded and set to be looted. Without a doubt, this condition goes up against the program of Jembrana Regency to realize the ‘Zero visit to forest’ to suppress the forest destruction and deforestation carried out by perpetrators of illegal logging and looting practices.

As a result of rampant forest looting, the territory of subak (Balinese irrigation cooperative) in Mendoyo faced a water shortage and drought because the local subak member relies on water flows of Biluk Poh River located in the region.

In responding to the increasingly severe forest looting and drought experienced by the subak members, village officials together with the community and authorities performed the logging of banana, corn and other crops planted in the midst of the forest on Sunday (Feb 20). Afterward, they were replaced with greening plants by planting around 1,500 trees obtained from the Forest Tree Seedlings of Bali Province and Jembrana Regency.

Such reforestation activities, other than carried out by the community and subak members, also involved the personnel of Military District Commander of Jembrana, Jembrana Agricultural, Forestry and Maritime Services (PKL), development agency for public order and safety (Babinkamtibmas), pub-

lic order officers (Satpol PP) of Mendoyo Subdistrict, subdistrict customary village assembly and nature lover students club of SMP I Mendoyo secondary school.

One of the subak members confessed that the looted forest was formerly situated in the south of subak temple standing right amid the forest. Today, the looting area had even extended to the northern and eastern region of the subak temple. “It has been awfully threatening seven subak territories. If neglected, the seven subaks threatened consist of the Penyaringan, Jaga Raga, Tibu Beleng, Tegal Gintungan, Telepus, Delod Berawah and Pergung. Ironically, the looting perpetrators are not only from the adjacent residents, but also from outside the adjacent villages,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Jembrana Agricultural, Forestry and Maritime Services, Ketut Windra, said that the greening initiative was indeed from local village. He recognized that the supervision against the protected forest remained under the authority of Provincial Government.

“We’re still waiting for some inputs from administrative and customary villages as well as subak members. Additionally, we could have given an answer or solution because the forest is under the authority of Provincial Government, even though there is a discourse on village forests.

We do not know for sure what it is like because, it is said, remaining to wait approval through the Decree of the Ministry of Forestry and until now our party has not received it,” he said. (120)

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News

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

International

Gadhafi’s son warns of civil war in Libya Associated Press Writer

CAIRO – After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital of Tripoli and protesters seized military bases and weapons Sunday, Moammar Gadhafi’s son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army’s backing and would “fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.”

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, in the regime’s first comments on the six days of demonstrations, warned the protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya’s oil wealth “will be burned.”

The speech followed a fierce crackdown by security forces who fired on thousands of demonstrators and funeral marchers in the eastern city of Benghazi in a bloody cycle of violence that killed 60 people on Sunday alone, according to a doctor in one city hospital. Since the six days of unrest began, more than 200 people have been killed, according to medical officials, human rights groups and exiled dissidents.

Libya response has been the harshest of any Arab country that has been wracked by the protests

that toppled long-serving leaders in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. But Gadhafi’s son said his father would prevail. “We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he said. “Moammar Gadhafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him.

“The armed forces are with him.

Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet,” he said in a rambling and sometimes confused speech of nearly 40 minutes.

Although the elder Gadhafi did not appear, his son has often been put forward as the regime’s face of reform.

Western countries have expressed concern at the rising violence against demonstrators in Libya. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he spoke to Seif al-Islam by phone and told him that the country must embark

on “dialogue and implement reforms,” the Foreign Office said.

In his speech, the younger Gadhafi conceded the army made some mistakes during the protests because the troops were not trained to deal with demonstrators, but he added that the number of dead had been exaggerated, giving a death toll of 84. He offered to put forward reforms within days that he described as a “historic national initiative” and said the regime was willing to remove some restrictions and begin discussions for a constitution. He offered to change a number of laws, including those covering the media and the penal code.

Dressed in a dark business suit and tie, Seif al-Islam wagged his finger frequently as he delivered his warnings. He said that if protests continued, Libya would slide back to “colonial” rule. “You will get Americans and European fleets coming your way and they will occupy you. He threatened to “eradicate the pockets of sedition” and said the army will play a main role in restoring order.

An Indian policeman mans a barricade outside the Bombay high court where Mumbai gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was having his appeal heard.

AFP/File/Punit Paranjpe

Death sentence confirmed for Mumbai attacker Agence France Presse

MUMBAI – Two Indian judges on Monday confirmed the death sentence for the sole surviving gunman of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 10 Islamist gunmen laid siege to the city, killing 166 people. The Bombay High Court dismissed the claim by Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab that he was wrongfully convicted of taking part in the attacks, likened in India to those in the United States on September 11, 2001.

The judges also threw out the state’s appeal against a lower court’s decision to acquit two Indian nationals who were accused of providing hand-drawn maps to the 10 gunmen. Kasab, who has not attended the appeal for security reasons but has been able to follow proceedings via video link, looked at the floor as the judgment was handed down, news channel NDTV said.

“Harsh penalty of death is required in some cases, especially this one, and the court would be sending a wrong signal to society if any penalty less than death is given,” judges Ranjana Desai and R.V. More

said in their ruling. “Kasab has never shown any remorse after his arrest and we have observed that even on video conference he has not shown any signs of regret,” they added.

The 23-year-old was found guilty last May of a string of offences including waging war against India, murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a trial at a maximum security prison court in Mumbai.

During the trial, the prosecution produced weighty fingerprint, DNA, eye-witness, CCTV and other evidence against him.

In the appeal, which began last October, Kasab’s legal team asked for a retrial, arguing that his trial lawyer was not given sufficient time to wade through the 11,000-page charge sheet before the case began. They also claimed that prosecution evidence and witnesses were manipulated.

Under Indian law, death sentence cases have to be referred to the local state high court. The judges can uphold the sentence, reduce it, order a retrial or overturn the conviction. Kasab has a further right of appeal to the Supreme Court in New Delhi and as a last resort to India’s president for clemency.

AP Photo/Libyan State Television

In this video image broadcast on Libyan state television early Monday Feb. 21, 2011 Seif al-Islam, son of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, speaks. Al-Islam says protesters have seized control of some military bases and tanks, and also warned of civil war in the country that would burn its oil wealth.

Merkel hammered in German state poll Agence France Presse

BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered an election thrashing in Hamburg, with support for her party collapsing in Germany’s second city at the start of a crunch political year.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) triumphed with just shy of 48.3 percent of the vote in the northern city state, while Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) crashed to just 21.9 percent, preliminary results showed.

In the last election in Hamburg in 2008, the centre-right CDU’s share of the vote was about double Sunday’s score at 42.6 percent, while the SPD was on just 34.1 percent. The result ends almost a decade of CDU rule in the Hamburg, Germany biggest port, and will make life harder for Merkel in the capital Berlin. But support for the SPD nationally is nowhere near what it is in Hamburg.

“This is a painful day for the CDU in Hamburg,” outgoing CDU mayor Christoph Ahlhaus said, calling the result a “bitter defeat”. Once the SPD has formally formed a government, the result gives the opposition firm control of the federal upper house in Berlin, the Bundesrat, constricting Merkel’s ability to push

through legislation.

The election will return the SPD to power in a city that has traditionally been a centre-left bastion. “This was a historic result, not just for us, but also for others,” a beaming SPD chief Sigmar Gabriel said. Future SPD mayor Olaf Scholz, a 52-year-old former federal labour minister, called the election outcome “very, very impressive”.

Merkel, meanwhile, was conspicuous by her absence, leaving a glum CDU general secretary Hermann Groehe to admit it had been a bad night.

“The CDU has suffered a heavy defeat. This is a big blow for the CDU in Hamburg,” he said.

“Merkel ... and her coalition in Berlin must now face up to not winning back a majority in the Bundesrat in the foreseeable future,” the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger daily said. The election is the first of seven state polls this year, with the most important in southwestern Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 27, where the opposition hopes to end almost 60 years of CDU control.

Local issues however featured prominently in Hamburg and surveys show the SPD’s lead over the CDU in the city is not replicated nationwide, where the conservatives remain the most popular party. A poll last week put CDU support at 36 percent and for the SPD 22 percent.

Hamburg’s Christian Democrats’ (CDU) outgoing mayor and main candidate Christoph Ahlhaus and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive for a campaign meeting on February 17, 2011 in Hamburg, north.

AFP PHOTO / KAY NIETFELD GERMANY OUT

International

Activities

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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New Executive Chef at Hard Rock Hotel Bali IBP

KUTA - Fresh from the Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hotel in Dubai, Zulal Ahmad (Zee) joined Hard Rock Hotel Bali as Executive Chef to oversee its 5 restaurants and bars, In-Room Dining, weddings, corporate functions and banqueting services.

Chef “Zee” brings with him 26 years of culinary experience in 12 luxury hotels to his role. He took his first steps in the catering industry in his home country, Indonesia.

To which he continued this path in Christmas Island - Australia where he focused more on Indonesian and Asian cuisine. From there he moved to many different hotels around Indonesia as an Executive Sous Chef where again he was starrated as the hotel’s top Asian Cuisine Chef.

The Indonesian native who grew up in a Jakarta, said he jumped at the opportunity to work at Hard Rock Hotel Bali, as the Leading Entertainment Hotel in Bali which has been

honored with several awards. The most recent accolade was The Most Favorite Hotel in Indonesia at the Indonesian Tourism Award 2010 in Jakarta.

“I had heard many good things about the property and was excited to work with the team at Hard Rock Hotel Bali. This hotel provides a unique and memorable guest experience with all the staffs’ attitude and the brand’s high recognition by Indonesians thru the numerous and prestigious awards it has won. I feel so extremely proud to be a part of this team” Chef Zee said.

General Manager Andrew Khoo said Zee’s strong background at highend restaurants and luxury hotels would further enhance the dining experiences available at Hard Rock Hotel Bali’s restaurants. “With Zee’s wealth of experience, we are looking forward to taking our restaurants and bars to an even higher level of satisfaction and provide diners with another “address” for good quality food”

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for February 1 through March 2, 2011 1 February AnggarKasih Tambir Dalem Puri Temple in Batuan - Sukawati Dalem Kediri Silakarang in Silakarang Singapadu - Gianyar Dalem Temple in Sukawati Village - Gianyar Dalem Temple in Singakerta Village - Ubud Gianyar Dalem Lemben in Ketewel - Sukawati Gianyar Paibon Pasek Tangkas in Peliatan - Ubud Puseh ngukuhin in Keramas - Gianyar Pemerajan Agung Ki Telabah in Tuakilang Tabanan Karang Buncing in Blahbatuh - Gianyar Dalem Bubunan in Seririt - Buleleng Desa Badung Temple in Denpasar Merajan Pasek Gelgel Gobleg in Turupinghe Banjar - Buleleng Luwur Pedengenan Bedha in Bongan Tabanan Merajan Dukuh Sebudi in Keramas - Gianyar Merajan Pasek Ngukuhin in Keramas - Gianyar Pucak Payongan in Kedewatan - Ubud Gianyar Tanah Kilap “ Griya Anyar” in Suwung Kawuh - Denpasar Selatan Selukat Temple in Keramas - Blahbatuh Gianyar Dalem Tampuagan in tembuku - Bangli Dalem Waturenggong in Desa Taro - Gianyar Dalem Bentuyung in Ubud - Gianyar Puseh Temple in Ubud - Gianyar Dalem Temple Peliatan Ubud - Gianyar 2 February Buda Umanis Tambir, Tilem Kawulu Sari Bankar Titih Kapal - Badung Ulun Kulkul (Aci Sarin Tahun) Besakih Karangasem Dalem Yang Taluh Sidemen Karangasem

Dalem Kangin Sidemen - Karangasem.

16 February Buda Keliwon Matal Puseh & Desa Temple Sukawati Village - Gianyar Merajan Agung Batuyang - batubulan Pasek Gelgel Bebetin Sawan - Buleleng Maspahit Temple Sesetan - South Denpasar Pasek Bendesa Manik Mas Dukuh Kendran Tegalalang Panti Pasek Gaduh Sesetan - South Denpasar Merajan Pasek Kubayan Wangaya Gede Pedarman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih Karangasem 17 February Purnama Kesanga Penataran sasih Temple Pejeng - Gianyar Bukit Mentik Gunung Lebah Batur Village Kintamani - bangli 26 February Tumpek Kandang Day Puseh Temple Gianyar City Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri - Tabanan Merajan Pasek Gelge Tegal Gede - Badung 2 March Buda Wage Menail Dalem Tarukan LinggihCemenggaon Sukawati Gianyar Pasek Dangke Bambang - Bangli Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Pejeng Kaja Gianyar Puseh Menakaji Peninjoan - Bangli Merajan Agung Blangsinga Blahbatuh - Gianyar Kawitan Gusti Agung Blangsinga Blahbatuh Gianyar Kawitan Gusti Celuk Celuk - Sukawati - Gianyar Baler Sada Temple Banjar Pemebatan, Kapal Mengwi

Balinese Temple Ceremony EVERY Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

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

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

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

News Bahrain...

From page 1

AP Photo/Dinh Tran Trung Hau

A tour boat, bottom, is pulled from the water at the famed Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh province, Vietnam Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, a day after at least 12 sleeping travelers from nine countries drowned when the vessel suddenly filled with water while anchored for the night.

Captain charged over Vietnam tour drownings

It is unclear how much weight the group, made up mostly of the hundreds of youth camped out on Pearl Square, carries. Nor is it clear what their relationship is with the official Shiite opposition that includes 18 members of the 40-member parliament who resigned in protest on Thursday.

But their manifesto shows the range of demands among the opposition, from the all-or-nothing youth group to others who would let the monarchy survive but with many of its powers and privileges turned over to the elected parliament.

In the statement, the youth group called for authorities to be put on trial for attacks on protesters last week and demanded an elected government. They said the first priority should be the cancellation of citizenship for thousands of foreigners, who were granted Bahraini nationality as part of an effort to change the sectarian balance in the island nation.

Few policies anger Bahrain’s Shiite majority more than bestowing citizenship to outside Sunnis, mostly Arabs but also from Pakistan and other South Asian countries.

Shiites in Bahrain have often complained of discrimination by

Suicide bomber detonates car near Somali police

Agence France Presse

Associated Press Writer

HANOI – The captain and engineer of a Vietnamese tour boat that sank last week killing 12 people could face jail terms after being charged with safety violations, a senior local official said Monday. Captain Nguyen Van Minh, 22, and chief engineer Do Van Thang, 27, were arrested Saturday on criminal charges of violating water traffic safety rules, said Dang Duy Hau, deputy chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial government. They could face several years in jail if convicted.

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A Somali police officer says a suicide bomber has detonated an explosives-laden car at a police station in the capital and killed at least five people. Officer Mohamed Abdi says it was a powerful explosion that ripped its victims apart.

The dead, mostly foreign tourists in their 20s, were killed when their boat “Dream Voyage” suddenly sank as they slept in Halong Bay, one of the country’s most popular attractions. The boat took on water so fast that sleeping passengers had almost no time to escape the torrent that filled their cabins, said one of the nine tourists who escaped with their lives. Six crewmen also survived.

The most likely cause of the accident was water leakage resulting from human error, Hau said. Normally a valve and pump ensure removal of any water that enters the boat while it moves. But the boat was stationary at the time of the accident, meaning the crew possibly forgot to close the valve, he said, emphasising that this was not the final conclusion.

The captain and engineer were still being questioned and the boat remained under investigation, Hau said. “At the time of the accident the weather was good so all outside impacts are excluded,” he added. A tourism official has called it the worst-ever tourist accident in Vietnam, which began opening to the outside world 25 years ago. A source familiar with marine practices in Halong Bay told AFP the latest accident did not come as a surprise.

The design of the vessels — most of which are wooden and resemble Chinese-style junks — makes them prone to overturning in storms. They often lack sophisticated electronic equipment and crews may not have adequate training, said the source, who declined to be named.

At the weekend, Vu Tuan Hung,

of the Quang Ninh water police, confirmed media reports that the boat owner, Truong Hai Co, was involved in another deadly accident in September 2009 when it operated under a different name. In the previous incident a boat belonging to the company sank during heavy rain, killing three foreign tourists and a local guide, Thanh Nien newspaper said in a weekend report.

After the earlier incident Thanh Nien said the boat, which was new, had breached several regulations, prompting authorities to pledge stricter enforcement of seaworthiness standards and registration rules. Attempts to reach the company Truong Hai since Thursday’s sinking have been unsuccessful, but the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported the boat that sank had been in service since 2008.

the Sunni rulers. The Al Khalifa royal dynasty has been in power for 200 years and has strong backing from other Gulf Arab leaders, who fear that Shiite powerhouse Iran could gain further footholds through the uprising led by Bahrain’s Shiites.

Bahrain’s rulers have offered talks with opposition groups to try to defuse the showdown, but the opposition appears to be in no hurry to talk with Crown Prince Sheik Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who has been delegated by the king to lead the dialogue.

The leaders of the official Shiite opposition said they are not refusing to talk to the crown prince, but want guarantees the rulers’ words will be backed by action after they meet.

Their main demand is the resignation of the government that is responsible for this week’s bloodshed and has been led by the same prime minister — the king’s uncle — for 40 years.

Other demands include abolishing the monarchy’s privileges to set policies and appoint all key political posts, along with addressing long-standing claims of discrimination and abuses against Shiites, who represent about 70 percent of Bahrain’s 525,000 citizens.

No group claimed has responsibility but the blame usually falls on Islamist insurgent groups who use suicide bombers and explosions as means to defeat a fragile government supported by 8,000 African peacekeepers.

Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has been the epicenter of the country’s two decades of violence.

AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Somali police officers look at the wreckage of a car destroyed in a suicide bombing attack which targeted a police station in southern Mogadishu’s Waberi district, Somalia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2011.

International

Indonesia Today

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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Government not to stop film imports Antara

JAKARTA - The government will not stop film imports, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said here on Sunday night.

AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

Residential houses line the polluted Ciliwung river in nothern Jakarta district on February 17, 2011.

According to the Environment Ministry, the 119-kilometer-long Ciliwung River that runs from Bogor and empties in Jakarta bay is one of the most polluted rivers in Indonesia. The ministry submitted a draft of a presidential regulation on the rehabilitation of Ciliwung River in 2009.

Thailand exploring fishery development cooperation with Aceh Antara

BANDA ACEH - The Thai government is exploring the possibility of cooperating with Aceh to develop the fishery potential of the province‘s waters, the country‘s top diplomat in Indonesia said.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf here Friday, Thai Ambassador to Indonesia Thanatip Upatising said Aceh was the most potential area for investment especially in the fisheries sector.

Governor Irwandi Yusuf said, the Aceh provincial administration would provide special facilities, including in licensing procedures, for every investor operating in Aceh.

Under Law Number 37/2000 on the free trade port of Sabang, the gov-

ernment had authorized the licensing of fishing operations in Aceh with a weight above 35 gross tons (GT).

“We have reviewed the ocean fisheries port area in Lampulo, Banda Aceh. The infrastructure to invest is quite good and supportive,” the ambassador said.

Therefore, his side would invite the Thailand businessmen to cooperate with the local fishermen to work on the fisheries potential in the province, the ambassador Thanatip Upatising added.

“We are eager to invest in fishery sector in Aceh and partnered with the local fishermen or businessmen. We will tell the potential investment in the province to Thailand businessmen,” he said.

The meeting also followed by a number of Aceh administration of-

ficials, including the Head of Aceh Marine and Fishery Office, Razali AR, the Head of Aceh Promotion and Investment office, Anwar Muhammad and the head of Aceh Forestry and Plantations office, T Fakhruddin Polem.

Meanwhile, the Head of Aceh Marine and Fishery Office, Razali, said, through the fisheries investments cooperation, it would be at least reducing illegal fishing activities in marine waters of the province.

The cooperation in fisheries sector with Thailand can be a momentum to transfer marine technology to the Aceh fishermen, he said.

“The cooperation is expected to not only fishing but also in term of processing that further it can be used as one of Aceh export commodity in,” Razali added.

Most Merapi temporary shelters still unfinished Antara

SLEMAN - Although three months have passed since the devastating eruptions of Mount Merapi, most of the temporary shelters the government has promised to build for displaced victims are not yet ready for occupation, according to officials.

“Many of the shelters have already been built but cannot yet be occupied due to problems related to the supporting infrastructure,” said Sleman District Chief Sri Purnomo to newsmen when he accompanied Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono X on a visit to shelters at Banjarsari, Glagaharjo and Cangkringan, on Saturday.

Purnomo added the problems

with the shelters which made them unfit for occupation are that there are not electricity and clean water facilities. Electricity network has not been able to reach the areas where the shelters constructed due to various problems, including the difficulty with erecting the cable lines.

In addition, many shelters do not have near water sources for clean water whereas their locations are mostly in high altitude making it difficult to dig up artesian wells. Also, the choice of locations has been other problems as not many locations are wide enough to construct the shelters.

Sanitation facilities such as sewerages for waste water have not yet been constructed. Water floods the areas where the shelters stand

any time rain falls.

Besides those technical problems, there have also been social problems because most of the victims want to be moved into shelters as long as they are grouped according to their former villages, said Purnomo.

The Sleman regent explained that up until February 15 there are 1,651 units of shelters already constructed, or 65 percent of the total 2,613 units to be built. Some 657 shelters are already occupied now.

Mount Merapi, among the world‘s most active volcano, erupted violently from October 26 up until mid November 2010, leaving 354 residents killed by the pyroclastic ashes spewed down the slopes of the mountain where hundreds of thousands lived.

The minister said the government would not stop the import of foreign movies, but it still discussing the taxation of national and foreign movies.

“It is still being discussed and thus it should not be opposed,” the minister said.

He added that the government was still seeking the most reasonable amount of tax on national and foreign movies.

“So the policy is not intended stop the import of foreign movies but to find the most reasonable amount of taxes,” the minister said.

Jero Wacik also said the preliminary discussion of movie tax has caused unrest in the community concerning the foreign movies.

“In reality no final decision has been made and the discussion has just started, but it already became a serious public discourse,” he said.

Therefore the minister said he would talk it over with film importers to seek the most favorable agreement between both parties.

“I would like to listen directly about what they wanted and to seek a common ground,” he said.

Indonesian Military Data Not Missing In South Korea Antara

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said Indonesian military data were not missing as previously reported to have been stolen in the Lotte Hotel in South Korea.

“The thing that was missing was the Trade Minister`s laptop,” Djoko Suyanto said here Monday.

The laptop contained data of six corridor economic cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea that would be developed to boost Indonesia‘s economic development, Djoko said.

Indonesia had previously discussed a similar cooperation with Japan and India, he said.

Djoko said, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, was not bringing any data about Indonesian Military to South Korea.

“Therefore, no data of Indonesian Military were missing,” Djoko said.

“I have no idea whether the data of the cooperation has been taken or not,” Djoko said responding to a question about suspected economic intelligence.

Previously, South Korean media reported that the Indonesian delegation‘s laptop had been stolen in the Lotte Hotel near the City Hall in Sogong-dong, where the

50-member Indonesian delegation was staying.

Two men and a woman who looked like Asians were suspected as the burglars who broke into a VIP room where the Indonesian delegate was staying on 19th floor.

According to a Namdaeum Police Officer, when the incident happened on Wednesday evening (Feb 16), the internal security guards were not guarding in the hotel as they were with the delegation outside the hotel.

The police had received a report from an Indonesian delegate saying the three suspects had copied the data into a USB from the laptop and left.

According to the police, the suspects might have specific targets, including data on the Indonesian military.

In South Korea, the Indonesian delegation met with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to discuss increased economic and military cooperation.

South Korea planned to sell T50 Golden Eagle training jets and according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Indonesia planned to buy 16 of those jets, in addition to Russian Yak-130 and Czech L159B jets. The Indonesian delegation has returned to Indonesia on Thursday (Feb 17).

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Internationa

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bali Today PHDI reminds hotel circles

Nyepi package should not be excessive Denpasar (Bali Post)—

It has become a tradition among the hotel circles in Bali to take advantage of Nyepi celebration as one of the attractions to increase the hotel occupancy. Even, the hotels offer a kind of Nyepi package coming with a number of special entertainments. In response to that matter, the Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali Province, IGN Sudiana, appealed the hotel management to arrange the Nyepi package politely and not to organize it excessively as it could potentially reduce the solemnity of the Hindus in implementing their abstinence or beratha penyepian.

“We do expect the hotel could set up the Nyepi package politely. It would be very wise if the hotels do not offer any entertainment to their guests coinciding with the Nyepi Day,” said Sudiana to Bali Post, Sunday (Feb 20).

Sudiana did not decline if the hotel circles recently seemed so passionate about designing Nyepi package. By and large, the package was designed for three days and two nights. It consisted of one day before Nyepi (Pengerupukan—Ed) until one day after Nyepi (Ngembak Nyepi). At the night of Pengerupukan, guests were usually invited to watch the attraction of ogoh-ogoh (papier mache demon) parade performed simultaneously throughout Bali. Meanwhile, right on Nyepi Day, some hotels added entertainment events such as family games as a decoy for the consumers. “Other than positively responded by foreign tourists, this Nyepi package also begins to be demanded by non-Hindu Balinese dwellers that are reluctant to spend the day within limited situation.

Even, it is also possibly taken advantage by the Hindus themselves by pur-

chasing the package on offer,” he said.

According to Sudiana, it was something legitimate if hotels offer the Nyepi package to their guests. However, he cautioned for the hotel to persistently respect the supreme values contained in the celebration of Nyepi. Though the hotels were given restricted tolerance for turning on the lights, it would be good if hotels did not turn on the lights as a form of respect for the indigenous wisdom of Bali. “If the significance and nature of Nyepi are properly socialized to guests, I have great confidence they will not mind not to turn on the lights during the day. Even, their presence in Bali during the Nyepi festivity could be going so unforgettable considering such an atmosphere could not be encountered in their home country or in other countries worldwide,” he reminded.

So, what about the Hindu communities in Bali that are also getting interested to take the Nyepi package?

Sudiana admitted he was deeply concerned if there were Hindus who deliberately pass the Nyepi Day in hotel for obtaining freedom. This lecturer of the

Denpasar Institute of Hindu Dharma (IHDN) did expect the hotel not to accommodate such a free will. As a matter of fact, the presence of Hindus in hotel to have fun during the Nyepi could give a negative impression to tourists about the celebration of Nyepi itself. “If there are Hindus who were forced to spend the Nyepi celebration in a hotel with a certain reason, they should remain to perform Brata Penyepian. They turn no lights and if possible remain in the room. Do not even take various types of entertainment offered by the hotel,” he reminded.

When contacted separately, the Head of Commission I of Bali House, Made Arjaya, expressed his concern over the arrangement of Nyepi packages at hotels tending not to adopt the sublime values of the Nyepi itself. According to this politician from Sanur, Nyepi package was designed in such a way so as to show off the real ambience of Nyepi.

Not vice versa, it even provided with the facilities as well as various kinds of entertainment that precisely went up against the essence of Nyepi celebra-

Gunarsa lead art group to US Antara

DENPASAR – Art Group from Bali consist of 12 people lead by the head of Bali Museum Association (Imusba), I Nyoman Gunarsa, leave to US to attend in the art exhibition in Asean Art Museum in San Francisco.

Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, the owner of Neka Museum who also in the group, said “the international exhibition will show the works from Indonesian artists which become the collection of the museum abroad especially in US, the Netherlands and other countries.”

He also explained that the member of Imusba is given the task by Bali Governor to represent Bali in the international event.

“Even tough there is no art works from Bali exhibited there but it means a lot to promote Bali because all of the works are made by talented Balinese artists,” Suteja Neka said.

IBP/Diah Dewi

Gunarsa working on his painting.

He explained that the event entitled “Bali Art Ritual Performanance” will be officially opened on February 25, 2011 and will last for eight months.

It will exhibit 130 items including paintings, statutes, and even contemporary arts and most of them are related with the development of “Pitamaha” in Ubud 1930 until now.

IBP/ist

One of the Hotel in Bali that offers special Nyepi Package. tion. “We hope the hotel circles to arrange the Nyepi package courteously.

Do not offer excessive facilities that can interfere with the solemnity of Nyepi itself. We will promptly make

coordination with the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) to give understanding about Nyepi package so as not to be too excessive,” he added. (kmb13)

Bali Silverwork Business Stays Prospective A number of souvenir craftsmen and silver jewelry in Bali said the prospects of commodity production and marketing stayed quite bright, even the number of tourists visit has not increased significantly. “Perhaps, the number of foreign tourists is not too high, but we are still in production because domestic tourist shows reasonable number,” said Ketut Murtika, a silver jewelry provider at Celuk, Gianyar.

Murtika confessed, up to this day, the silverworks remained prospective in his eyes. Although tourist market was facing low season but most of their products were absorbed into overseas market since he has established contracts with some buyers there.

According to him, the prospect was still bright enough, but it should be realized with the support of the rich design property. On that account, the production of his silverwork always yielded innovative products. For instance, he combined silver with precious stones and other stone jewels that were no less enchanting. One of the mainstays of his silverwork products is an attractive design at affordable price. “I design for myself and distinguish it between foreign and domestic mar-

ket. Domestic consumers generally like simple and small designs, while overseas market likes the opposite ones,” he said.

Within a day, he said, he could make about 50 rings and 20 silver necklaces whose raw materials came from home and foreign country.

Meanwhile, Jayantika, another craftsman whose location is adjacent said there should be a new breakthrough to develop Bali silver markets abroad. “For example, the target market to Europe, the Middle East or other Asian countries. There should be government intervention to make it happen,” he said.

In Asian countries, continued Jayantika, Vietnam and Thailand were big enough silverwork producers. A few buyers have turned to the country. However, the silverworks produced by the countries were not the same as that of Bali silver because according to Jayantika they often used more machines in making the products, while in Bali was mostly handmade. Therefore, in general the quality of Bali silver was comparable to foreign products. “If competing in the export markets the silver products of Bali will remain competitive,” he concluded. (BTN)

al

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Balinese Culture Archaeological heritage in Bali Archaeological researches in Bali have found a number of archeological heritages, which belonged to prehistoric and historic remains. Prehistoric remains proved the earliest of the people’s life, started from hunting and food gathering through cultivation up to mastering the advanced technology. Such remains indicated the struggle and the achievement of the people’s life gradually, after adapting and exploring their environment its natural resources for their life, because the nature was still quite dangerous. On the other hands, the remains also demonstrated the relationship of the prehistoric Balinese people to those who lived in Java, Sumatera etc, even to the South-East Asian people.

The most important of the prehistoric live in Bali is the invention of the metallic technology along with the megalithic tradition. During the advance technology the Balinese people have produced several kind of bronze goods for ritual purpose such as kettledrums and for daily uses as well such as axes etc. Mastering the advance technology, Balinese people have succeeded to develop stone moulds in the village of Manuaba (Gianyar) for casting bronze kettledrum. The human-mask decoration, showed a remarkable similarities to the decorations of the huge kettledrums found in the village of Pejeng not so far of the east of Manuaba, but the stone moulds of Manuaba are small in its size.

It should be noted here that bronze kettledrums were not only found in Bali, but also in Java, and Eastern Indonesian Island. Another bronze moulds made of clay were also found in West Java, but not for producing kettledrums, but for making spearheads, axes, etc. Regarding the hu-

man-mask decorations, which were founds on the kettledrums of Pejeng, on the stone moulds of Manuaba and on the number of the sarcophagi found in Bali, was regarded as symbol of the leader’s or the ancestor’s spirits. The people believed that the spirit, who were abode on the top of the mountain or on the inaccessible place have the magic power for protecting the living society. When Hinduism have spread widely in Indonesia, the people believed to the sacred mountain as the place of the Hindu pantheons and the ancestor’s spirit as well. Based on this conception, then the people built their temples on the mountain area such as as Pura Besakih on the slope of Mount Agung.

Along with the development of the metallic industry, the megalithic tradition increased not only in Bali, but also in Sumatera, Flores etc. Several kinds of megalithic remains were founds there namely menhirs, dolmens, menhirstatues, stepped pyramids etc. It is a matter of facts that the megalithic tradition have strongly influenced the people’s life and it is not surprising any more that living megalithic tradition could be found until to present day in Nias, Toraja, Bali and Eastern Indonesians Islands. In Bali, the megalithic remains, exe the sarcophagi are regarded as sacred monuments and functioned for worshipping thje Hindu Trinity, the local deities and the ancestor’s spirit (Sutaba 1984).

Researches on the advanced technology and on the megalithic tradition in Bali in particular, have made conclusions that Balinese people have build their social organization headed by the leaders. The well organizations have made favorable conditions for mastering the advance technology.

Then the social and cultural development became the solid foundation for

facing the new era when Hinduism arrived in Bali (Sutaba, 1930).

Bali have got Hindu-Budhis influences nearly at the 9 century A.D. as Proved by the finding of clay stuphikas and seals beared Budhis formula, near the village of Pejeng, Gianyar. Then a pillar inscription was rediscovered in Blanjong Sanur (Badung) which mentioned the name of the king Kesari Warmadewa. This inscription was originated from c.10 century A.D. Since this period, Hinduism was spread widely in Bali and went deeply into the life of the Balinese people and then survived until today. Having well developed social organization and cultural life before the arrival of Hinduism, have led the Balinese people successfully modified the new elements in accordance with their characters and became the new one beared Balinese identity.

The wellknown king of Bali is a couple royal named king Udayana and his wife Gunapryadharmapati (c.10 century A.D), then succeeded by their families. During the ancient history of Bali, a number of temples were built nearly in the whole island.

In these temple several kinds of historical remains were preserved e.g. statues, inscriptions etc. As the follower of Hinduism, Balinese people regard the temples including the remains in them as sacred monuments for worshiping the Hindu pantheons, the local deities and the ancestor’s spirit as well. This religious function was the responsibility of the Balinese people for keeping the monuments in well conditions and the welfare of the living society.

Based on the evidence found in Bali there ere thousand tamples, which then named Bali as “The Island of Thousand Temples” or “The Island of Paradise”. (BTN/Doc)

Sate Be Pasih:

Blissful Flavor from the Sea Delicacy of seafood can conjure up your appetite to ask for again and again. Armed with excellent ingredient and blended with appropriate proportion of spices, it will make the serving more glorious and special. When you plan to travel to Bali, probably one thing comes to your mind, what good food the region offers.

Each region has its own typical nature and unique tradition of cuisine. Balinese people known as religious community have a variety of food related to their rituals.

One of them is satay. To fill in their oblation in the ritual activities, they prepare twisted satay with minced meat or skewer satay with sliced meat. In terms of its ingredient, the common satay used to fill in the oblation is that made of fork and chicken.

Meanwhile, satay for consumption is not only made of chicken and fork. However, they creatively keep on finding out some other new ingredients. Up to these days, there are satays made of shrimp, snail, gourami and tuna. In harmony with the passage of time, local people progressively like the seafood (tuna) satay.

Vendors of this satay can be found at roadsides, traditional markets and outermost courtyards or parking lots of temple during the temple anniversary. Even, in socio-religious activities like wedding or tooth filing ceremony, this satay is served to enrich the choice of the existing menus.

This tuna satay delicacy takes advantage of the Balinese complete spices. They comprise 8 cloves of shallot, 3 cloves of garlic, small chili (2), large chili (1), grounded lemongrass (1 stalk), candlenut (2), pepper (1/ 2 tsp), coriander (1/2 tsp), ginger, galangal and turmeric (respectively 1 slice), palm sugar (1 tbsp), salt (1 tsp), squeeze of lime (1 tbsp) and 10 stalks of lemongrass for skewer.

First of all, cleanse thoroughly the tuna flesh and then smear it by the squeeze of lime. Afterward, take aside for some 10 minutes and then grind it until tender.

Secondly, prepare the spices by grinding them well, too.

Take the tender tuna flesh, ground spices, salt, palm sugar and then mix them together evenly. Thirdly, take a stalk of lemongrass and some flesh batter. Twist the batter around the lemongrass skewer while pressing. Do the same until the batter runs out. Ultimately, cook the satay by grilling over a hot fire or charcoal embers.

Attempt to make it cooked at all sides. Do not leave them unattended! In order to look nice, serve them on a garnished plate. For garnish you can apply the slices of rape mango and flesh of pomelo. (BTN/punia)

C.045 ibp

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Destinations

International

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Nusa Dua is an elite resort area with international five star hotels and resorts existing on the costal side in south part of Bali. It is located in Badung Regency and about 25 minutes drive from Bali’s International airport. Nusa Dua with 350 ha size is the sample luxury resort area and one of best tourism places in the world. In fact, the name of Nusa Dua is coming from two small islands located in the south part of Bali Island (Nusa mean the island and Dua mean two) that is dissociated with the white sand.

Nusa Dua Area is start built in year 1974,as a result from study of French consultant, SCETO ( Societe Centrale pour l’equpeent Touristique Ouetre-Mer) in the year 1970 and also feasibility study conducted by PCI (Pacific Consultants International) year 1971-1973 for financing of World Bank aid. The Indonesian Government has delivered this area management to PT. BTDC (Bali Tourism Development Corporation) which existing under the law and regulation of Republic Indonesia Government no.27 year 1972, on 12 November 1972.

Tourist Places in Bali This area owns the most complete tourism facilities in Bali and Indonesia like five star hotels, luxury accommodations, villas, convention hall, shopping center and beautiful beaches. The five star hotels exist in this area are Club Med, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, The Westin Resort, The Laguna Resort, Melia Bali Villas and Spa, Inna Putri Bali Hotel, The Ayodya Resort, Kayu Manis Villa, Nikko Bali Resort and Spa, The Bale Villas and Novotel Nusa Dua. There are also the sports activities are available in this are like tennis court, squash and golf course. Each hotel is completed by five star restaurant facilities, bar, pub and beach activities.

Jl. Kepundung 67 A, e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id Jl. Palmerah Barat 21 F

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

11

BUSINESS Corporate America’s economic outlook Reuters

WASHINGTON – Wall Street and the U.S. government statisticians seem to have very different views on the state of the economy.

Earnings expectations have risen since October for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of big businesses, according to Thomson Reuters data. Lofty stock market indexes reflect that optimism.

Private surveys of manufacturers and small businesses show both confidence and hiring intentions improving.

Food companies and clothing retailers are pushing through price increases to try to offset rising commodity costs, a bold bet that consumer spending will be strong enough to accept higher prices.

Yet the government’s most closely watched economic indicators — employment and gross domestic product — still show frustratingly sluggish growth.

Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist for Mizuho Securities USA, said one reason for the disconnect between Wall Street and the government data is where companies are making their money.

“Part of it is global versus domestic. If I’m doing well in my foreign business and that’s driving up my profitability.... then I’m a happy camper,” Ricchiuto said.

The flip side is that many companies relying on domestic consumption are struggling, particularly services businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters or hair salons that have taken a hit as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.

Earnings results this week from some of the world’s biggest retailers will show just how well they managed costs — and consumer restraint — during the holiday shopping season.

Expectations are low for WalMart, which is due to report their quarterly result on Tuesday. It has posted six consecutive declines in quarterly sales at its U.S. discount stores.

Reports from Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears will give insight into homeowners’ spending, an important measure when the housing market remains one of the biggest trouble spots for the U.S. economy.

The S&P Case-Shiller report on house prices, slated for release on Tuesday, is expected to show prices fell yet again in December, according to a Reuters poll. A separate report on January existing home sales, coming a day later, is also expected to look weak.

Those retail reports merit close scrutiny for clues on both consumer spending and inflation. It is no secret that commodity-sensitive companies are feeling the pinch from rising costs and are keen to share some of the burden with shoppers.

Campbell Soup said on Friday it faced rising costs for grains, oils, sweeteners and steel cans, and expected “better pricing” in the second half of the year. Many other

companies have raised prices or found other ways to cut costs, perhaps by substituting cheaper fabrics for cotton or reducing the amount of food per package.

Price pressures are beginning to show up in rising “core” inflation, which excludes food and energy prices. This has fueled some concern among economists and investors that price pressures are building too fast and will ultimately warrant Federal Reserve action.

Dean Maki, an economist with Barclays Capital in New York, raised his 2011 CPI forecast on Friday to 2.3 percent from 1.8 percent, with his projection for core inflation rising to 1.3 percent, up from 1.1 percent.

Investors will have a chance to hear from a half-dozen Fed officials this week, and will be listening for any indication that policymakers are reconsidering a plan to buy $600 billion in assets to support the economic recovery.

Maki dismisses the view that the Fed will have to raise interest rates sooner than expected in order to tamp down price pressures. Even if core inflation hit his raised target, it would still be below the Fed’s perceived comfort zone, and with unemployment at 9 percent the economy has plenty of slack.

“We believe the Fed welcomes the firming inflation backdrop,” Maki wrote in a note to clients.

Chinese telecom giant calls off US deal Associated Press

BEIJING – A major Chinese telecoms equipment maker is scrapping its effort to acquire a U.S. computer company after a security panel refused to approve the deal.

Huawei Technologies Ltd.’s bid to acquire 3Leaf Systems came amid concern in some countries about China’s growing economic might and political assertiveness. American critics said the deal might allow sensitive technology to be transferred to China’s military.

Huawei had said it hoped to win White House approval despite the recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to cancel the deal. But in a weekend announcement, Huawei reversed course and said it would withdraw its application.

“This was a difficult decision, however we have decided to accept the recommendation of CFIUS to

withdraw our application to acquire specific assets of 3Leaf,” the company said in a brief statement. “The significant impact and attention that this transaction has caused were not what we intended. Rather, our intention was to go through all the procedures to reveal the truth about Huawei.”

Huawei said it “will remain committed to long-term investment in the United States.”

Huawei is one of the biggest makers of network switching gear and reported sales of $28 billion last year. It has struggled to gain a foothold in the United States against rivals such as Cisco Systems Inc. Huawei was founded by a former Chinese military officer, which has fueled speculation about its links to the People’s Liberation Army. The company says it is owned by its employees and has no military connection.

Companies that fail to receive

CFIUS approval usually withdraw proposed deals.

In 2008, Huawei and an American partner, Bain Capital, withdrew a request for U.S. government approval of a bid to buy 3Com. The companies said they failed to satisfy national security concerns.

Huawei says it failed to apply for approval of the $2 million 3Leaf deal in advance because it bought the company’s technology and hired some employees, rather than acquiring the whole company. The Pentagon took the unusual step of demanding that Huawei retroactively apply for a CFIUS review.

At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said the case highlighted the importance of ensuring that U.S. industry was aware of potential security threats “when we depend on foreign concerns for key components in any of our telecommunications network.”

Global arms sales passed $400 billion in 2009 Agence France-Presse

STO C K H O L M – T h e world’s 100 largest arms dealers, excluding Chinese vendors, sold weapons for $401 billion in 2009, with US vendors remaining in first place, according to a report published Monday.

“Despite the continuing global economic recession in 2009, the total arms sales of ...

100 of the world?s largest arms-producing companies increased by $14.8 billion from 2008,” the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement upon releasing the report.

That amounts to a year-onyear increase of eight percent, and “an increase of a total of 59 percent in real terms since 2002”, the think tank said, pointing out that 61.5 percent of all 2009 arms sales made by the top 100 arms dealers could be attributed to 45 companies based in the United States.

“US government spending on military goods and services is a key factor in arms sales increases for US arms-producing and military services companies and for Western European companies with a foothold in the US arms and military services market,” SIPRI arms industry expert Susan Jackson explained in the statement.

O n S i p r i ’s l i s t o f t h e world’s 10 largest arms vendors, seven were American: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, L-3 Communications and United Technologies.

In 2009, Lockheed Martin inched ahead of British BAE Systems to take global first place, raking in $33.4 billion on arms sales compared to BAE’s $33.3 billion. Both companies meanwhile each accounted for 8.3 percent of all weapons sold by the world’s top 100 vendors.

BAE’s branch in the United States alone accounted for $19.3 billion in sales, which

if it had been a separate company would have secured it a seventh place on the global ranking, SIPRI said.

Thirty-three of the top 100 companies were meanwhile based in nine Western European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain, accounting for $120 billion dollars worth of sales, or 30 percent of all weapons sold in 2009, according to SIPRI. After BAE, the world’s second largest vendor, trans-European group EADS topped the ranking for the continent, securing a seventh place with $15.9 billion in sales, or 4.0 percent of the global market, and Italian Finmeccanica, which ranked eighth globally, with $13.3 billion in sales and 3.3 percent of worldwide sales.

Ten of the companies figuring on the top 100 list were based in Asia, including four in Japan and three in India, while seven were located in the Middle East, three of which were based in Israel.

To g e t h e r c o m p a n i e s i n these two regions generated $24 billion in arms sales, or six percent of the global market, SIPRI said.

However, these numbers do not include China.

“Although it is known that several Chinese arms-produci n g e n t e r p r i s e s a r e l a rg e enough to rank among the SIPRI Top 100, a lack of comparable and sufficiently accurate data makes it impossible to include them,” Jackson explained to AFP. SIPRI defines arms sales as “sales of military goods and services to military customers, including both sales for domestic procurement and sales for export.”

The think tank, which is specialised in research on conflicts, weapons, arms control and disarmament, was created in 1966 and is 50-percent financed by the Swedish state.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

11

BUSINESS Corporate America’s economic outlook Reuters

WASHINGTON – Wall Street and the U.S. government statisticians seem to have very different views on the state of the economy.

Earnings expectations have risen since October for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of big businesses, according to Thomson Reuters data. Lofty stock market indexes reflect that optimism.

Private surveys of manufacturers and small businesses show both confidence and hiring intentions improving.

Food companies and clothing retailers are pushing through price increases to try to offset rising commodity costs, a bold bet that consumer spending will be strong enough to accept higher prices.

Yet the government’s most closely watched economic indicators — employment and gross domestic product — still show frustratingly sluggish growth.

Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist for Mizuho Securities USA, said one reason for the disconnect between Wall Street and the government data is where companies are making their money.

“Part of it is global versus domestic. If I’m doing well in my foreign business and that’s driving up my profitability.... then I’m a happy camper,” Ricchiuto said.

The flip side is that many companies relying on domestic consumption are struggling, particularly services businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters or hair salons that have taken a hit as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.

Earnings results this week from some of the world’s biggest retailers will show just how well they managed costs — and consumer restraint — during the holiday shopping season.

Expectations are low for WalMart, which is due to report their quarterly result on Tuesday. It has posted six consecutive declines in quarterly sales at its U.S. discount stores.

Reports from Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears will give insight into homeowners’ spending, an important measure when the housing market remains one of the biggest trouble spots for the U.S. economy.

The S&P Case-Shiller report on house prices, slated for release on Tuesday, is expected to show prices fell yet again in December, according to a Reuters poll. A separate report on January existing home sales, coming a day later, is also expected to look weak.

Those retail reports merit close scrutiny for clues on both consumer spending and inflation. It is no secret that commodity-sensitive companies are feeling the pinch from rising costs and are keen to share some of the burden with shoppers.

Campbell Soup said on Friday it faced rising costs for grains, oils, sweeteners and steel cans, and expected “better pricing” in the second half of the year. Many other

companies have raised prices or found other ways to cut costs, perhaps by substituting cheaper fabrics for cotton or reducing the amount of food per package.

Price pressures are beginning to show up in rising “core” inflation, which excludes food and energy prices. This has fueled some concern among economists and investors that price pressures are building too fast and will ultimately warrant Federal Reserve action.

Dean Maki, an economist with Barclays Capital in New York, raised his 2011 CPI forecast on Friday to 2.3 percent from 1.8 percent, with his projection for core inflation rising to 1.3 percent, up from 1.1 percent.

Investors will have a chance to hear from a half-dozen Fed officials this week, and will be listening for any indication that policymakers are reconsidering a plan to buy $600 billion in assets to support the economic recovery.

Maki dismisses the view that the Fed will have to raise interest rates sooner than expected in order to tamp down price pressures. Even if core inflation hit his raised target, it would still be below the Fed’s perceived comfort zone, and with unemployment at 9 percent the economy has plenty of slack.

“We believe the Fed welcomes the firming inflation backdrop,” Maki wrote in a note to clients.

Chinese telecom giant calls off US deal Associated Press

BEIJING – A major Chinese telecoms equipment maker is scrapping its effort to acquire a U.S. computer company after a security panel refused to approve the deal.

Huawei Technologies Ltd.’s bid to acquire 3Leaf Systems came amid concern in some countries about China’s growing economic might and political assertiveness. American critics said the deal might allow sensitive technology to be transferred to China’s military.

Huawei had said it hoped to win White House approval despite the recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to cancel the deal. But in a weekend announcement, Huawei reversed course and said it would withdraw its application.

“This was a difficult decision, however we have decided to accept the recommendation of CFIUS to

withdraw our application to acquire specific assets of 3Leaf,” the company said in a brief statement. “The significant impact and attention that this transaction has caused were not what we intended. Rather, our intention was to go through all the procedures to reveal the truth about Huawei.”

Huawei said it “will remain committed to long-term investment in the United States.”

Huawei is one of the biggest makers of network switching gear and reported sales of $28 billion last year. It has struggled to gain a foothold in the United States against rivals such as Cisco Systems Inc. Huawei was founded by a former Chinese military officer, which has fueled speculation about its links to the People’s Liberation Army. The company says it is owned by its employees and has no military connection.

Companies that fail to receive

CFIUS approval usually withdraw proposed deals.

In 2008, Huawei and an American partner, Bain Capital, withdrew a request for U.S. government approval of a bid to buy 3Com. The companies said they failed to satisfy national security concerns.

Huawei says it failed to apply for approval of the $2 million 3Leaf deal in advance because it bought the company’s technology and hired some employees, rather than acquiring the whole company. The Pentagon took the unusual step of demanding that Huawei retroactively apply for a CFIUS review.

At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said the case highlighted the importance of ensuring that U.S. industry was aware of potential security threats “when we depend on foreign concerns for key components in any of our telecommunications network.”

Global arms sales passed $400 billion in 2009 Agence France-Presse

STO C K H O L M – T h e world’s 100 largest arms dealers, excluding Chinese vendors, sold weapons for $401 billion in 2009, with US vendors remaining in first place, according to a report published Monday.

“Despite the continuing global economic recession in 2009, the total arms sales of ...

100 of the world?s largest arms-producing companies increased by $14.8 billion from 2008,” the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement upon releasing the report.

That amounts to a year-onyear increase of eight percent, and “an increase of a total of 59 percent in real terms since 2002”, the think tank said, pointing out that 61.5 percent of all 2009 arms sales made by the top 100 arms dealers could be attributed to 45 companies based in the United States.

“US government spending on military goods and services is a key factor in arms sales increases for US arms-producing and military services companies and for Western European companies with a foothold in the US arms and military services market,” SIPRI arms industry expert Susan Jackson explained in the statement.

O n S i p r i ’s l i s t o f t h e world’s 10 largest arms vendors, seven were American: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, L-3 Communications and United Technologies.

In 2009, Lockheed Martin inched ahead of British BAE Systems to take global first place, raking in $33.4 billion on arms sales compared to BAE’s $33.3 billion. Both companies meanwhile each accounted for 8.3 percent of all weapons sold by the world’s top 100 vendors.

BAE’s branch in the United States alone accounted for $19.3 billion in sales, which

if it had been a separate company would have secured it a seventh place on the global ranking, SIPRI said.

Thirty-three of the top 100 companies were meanwhile based in nine Western European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain, accounting for $120 billion dollars worth of sales, or 30 percent of all weapons sold in 2009, according to SIPRI. After BAE, the world’s second largest vendor, trans-European group EADS topped the ranking for the continent, securing a seventh place with $15.9 billion in sales, or 4.0 percent of the global market, and Italian Finmeccanica, which ranked eighth globally, with $13.3 billion in sales and 3.3 percent of worldwide sales.

Ten of the companies figuring on the top 100 list were based in Asia, including four in Japan and three in India, while seven were located in the Middle East, three of which were based in Israel.

To g e t h e r c o m p a n i e s i n these two regions generated $24 billion in arms sales, or six percent of the global market, SIPRI said.

However, these numbers do not include China.

“Although it is known that several Chinese arms-produci n g e n t e r p r i s e s a r e l a rg e enough to rank among the SIPRI Top 100, a lack of comparable and sufficiently accurate data makes it impossible to include them,” Jackson explained to AFP. SIPRI defines arms sales as “sales of military goods and services to military customers, including both sales for domestic procurement and sales for export.”

The think tank, which is specialised in research on conflicts, weapons, arms control and disarmament, was created in 1966 and is 50-percent financed by the Swedish state.

12

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Entertainment

International

Rihanna rocks celebstudded NBA All-Star game Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – With a celebrity-studded crowd looking on, Rihanna rocked the halftime show at the NBA All-Star game on her 23rd birthday.

She had other big names helping her sing her hits Sunday, with Drake joining in on “What’s My Name?” and working “happy birthday” into the lyrics. Dripping in gold chains, a red-clad Kanye West came out for “All of the Lights,” which is off his latest album but features Rihanna. At halftime, the lights inside Staples Center went out and the video screens filled with water droplets, setting the stage for Rihanna to emerge from behind a wall singing “Umbrella.”

The red-haired singer soon shed her short black suit jacket and white scarf to reveal a short black skirt and a rhinestone halter. She shimmied her way through “Only Girl (In the World)” and didn’t flinch when her huge hoop earring

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Rihanna performs during the halftime show at the NBA basketball All-Star Game Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, in Los

fell off her left ear in mid-song.

While it was a working day for Rihanna, her fellow music stars relaxed in their seats while watching the 60th annual All-Star game. The West team, led by Kobe Bryant’s 37 points, defeated the East 148-143.

Beyonce and hubby Jay-Z sat courtside, with Justin Bieber (MVP of Friday’s All-Star celebrity game) two seats away. Sean “Diddy” Combs, Stevie Wonder (wearing headphones), Grammy winner Bruno Mars, Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, Gene Simmons, and “American Idol” judge Steven Tyler were scattered around the arena. Rapper Nicki Minaj snacked on pink cotton candy.

Later, Rihanna sat courtside next to 16-year-old Bieber, making for a striking contrast between her flaming long hair and his famous shaggy ‘do. Benny, the Chicago Bulls mascot, jumped into the seat next to singer John Legend and his girlfriend-model Chrissy Teigen to joke around.

Canadian singer Melanie Fiona sang her country’s national anthem, and Los Angeles native Josh Groban did the U.S. anthem. With plenty of fog swirling, Lenny Kravitz played during the pregame introductions. Among the movie and TV stars in attendance were Dustin Hoffman, Spike Lee, Warren Beatty, Rick Fox and girlfriendactress Eliza Dushku, and Nick Cannon (without wife Mariah Carey). CNN talk show host Piers Morgan furiously worked his cell phone during most of the action.

Snoop Dogg, Terrell Owens, Chris Tucker, tennis star Venus Williams, and actors Forest Whitaker, Noah Wyle and Ellen Pompeo took in the show, too. Los Angeles Lakers fan Jack Nicholson was bumped out of his usual courtside seat.

Actress Gabrielle Union walked the magenta carpet outside the arena before the game, dishing on her boyfriend, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

“His closet is way bigger than mine. He’s way, way, way into clothes that his closet is like five times the size of mine,” Union said.

Wade loves different scents, too.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Cast members January Jones,left, Liam Neeson, center, and Diane Kruger, right, pose together at the premiere of “Unknown” in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011.

‘Unknown’ hits box office gold Agence France Presse

LOS ANGELES – Liam Neeson gave British heartthrob Alex Pettyfer a run for his money, with the veteran actor’s thriller “Unknown” taking the top spot at the North American box office this holiday weekend. “Unknown” earned $21.8 million for the weekend leading up to the Presidents Day holiday on Monday, following in the footsteps of Neeson’s last action hit, 2009’s “Taken.”

Leeson stars as a botanist who awakens after a car crash in Berlin to find his wife claiming she does not known him and that another man has taken his identity.

Sci-fi action flick “I Am Number Four,” was in second place with Alex Pettyfer as a teenaged alien refugee hiding on Earth from evil invaders who killed his family. Critics had expected it to come in first, but the film netted just $19.5 million in ticket receipts despite the anticipation.

The animated “Gnomeo and Juliet” held on to third place, with $19.4 million. The family-friendly Shakespeare retelling features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, as well as the music of Elton John. In the fourth spot was last week’s winner, “Just Go With It” starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. The romantic comedy cashed $18.2 million.

The weekend’s other major new release — Martin Lawrence’s “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son” com-

edy — came in fifth with $17 million.

In sixth was Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never,” with $13.6 million. The concert documentary tells the story of the boy’s rise from a small town in Canada to superstardom — and he doesn’t turn 17 until next month.

Still basking in its awards glory ahead of the Academy Awards next week, critically acclaimed “The King’s Speech” took $6.6 million in the seventh spot, bringing its 13-week total to $103.3 million. The British historical drama has been nominated for 12 Oscars and already scooped up wins at other award ceremonies in the United States and Europe.

Dropping into eighth was widely panned horror flick “The Roommate” with $4.1 million, ahead of gladiator pic “The Eagle” starring Channing Tatum and earning $3.6 million.

Mexico state congress seeks ban of video game Associated Press Writer

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – A shoot-em-up video game set in the border town of Ciudad Juarez has angered local officials who are busy fighting all-too-real violence.

Chihuahua state legislators said Sunday they have asked federal authorities to ban “Call of Juarez: The Cartel,” which is based on drug cartel shootouts in Ciudad Juarez. About 6,000 people died in drug-related violence in Ciudad Juarez in 2009 and 2010, making the city, located across from El Paso, Texas, one of the deadliest

in the world.

The website of game developer Ubisoft Entertainment SA says the title is due for release this summer. Screen shots from the game show three characters armed with a pistol, an assault rifle and a shotgun ready to open fire on a city street.

The game’s promotional slogan urges players, “Take justice into your own hands and experience the lawlessness of the modern Wild West.” No one answered a message left at the company’s San Francisco office.

Ricardo Boone Salmon, a congressman for Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is located, said the state legisla-

ture unanimously approved a request this week asking the federal Interior Department to ban the game.

“It is true there is a serious crime situation, which we are not trying to hide,” Boone Salmon said. “But we also should not expose children to this kind of scenarios so that they are going to grow up with this kind of image and lack of values.” State congress leader Enrique Serrano said the main concern was the potential effect on children in Ciudad Juarez, some of whom have already been taught to “duck and cover” if firefights erupt outside their schools.

“Children wind up being easily involved in criminal acts over time, because among other things, during their childhood not enough care has been taken about what they see on television and playing video games,” Serrano said. “They believe so much blood and death is normal.” It is not the first time city officials have been angered by references to Juarez’s problems.

In this product image released

by Ubisoft Entertainment, the cover art for ‘Call of Juarez: The Cartel’ for Xbox 360 is shown.

AP Photo/Ubisoft

International

Science

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

13

Planet could be ‘unrecognizable’ by 2050, experts say Agence France Presse

WASHINGTON – A growing, more affluent population competing for ever scarcer resources could make for an “unrecognizable” world by 2050, researchers warned at a major US science conference Sunday.

AFP/NASA/GSFC/NOAA

Undated image of Earth’s city lights released by NASA. A growing, more affluent population competing for ever scarcer resources could make for an “unrecognizable” world by 2050, researchers warned at a major US science conference Sunday.

Android, video games dominate mobile confab Reuters

BARCELONA, Spain – The 2011 instellment of Mobile World Congress, which gathered 60,000 professionals from 200 countries, served as the official coming-out party for the next generation of Google Android smartphones and tablets.

Android had a massive, two-floor booth packed with all the new smartphones and tablets shipping in the coming months running off the various Android platforms, including Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play phone, which operates on Gingerbread, and LG’s Optimus Pad tablet, which is powered by Honeycomb.

The Android booth featured a huge arcade section where developers from around the world showcased the next gen-

eration of mobile games. While graphics and gameplay have improved in the mobile space over the years, the new wave of smartphones and tablets will push the capabilities of these devices to the level of PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 — and beyond even the best iPhone 4 and iPad games that are currently on the market.

“Video games drive the mobile business because they’re the best showcase of what these new devices can really do,” said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president of publishing at Gameloft, one of the largest mobile game companies in the world.

“Our experience in the console market is helping us deliver quality titles to these new devices for the mobile market.”

Gameloft, which previously supported Apple’s launch of iPhone and iPad with games, had franchises like Asphalt 6, Let’s Golf and NOVA running in autostereoscopic (glasses free) 3D at LG’s booth on the new Optimus 3D phone. The company also will support the March launch of Xperia Play with 10 titles, including Star Battalion. And the publisher has recently started developing new games to run on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core technology.

Tegra 2 brings PC gaming graphics and speed from just a few years ago to the mobile space on new Android smartphones and tablets, which will run 10x faster than the processors in today’s smartphones like iPhone 4. The Tegra 2’s dedicated graphics processor also delivers 1080p HDTV playback of movies, TV shows and games. On battery life, Tegra’s ultra low-power design delivers over 16 hours of HD video or 140 hours of music on a single charge.

The United Nations has predicted the global population will reach seven billion this year, and climb to nine billion by 2050, “with almost all of the growth occurring in poor countries, particularly Africa and South Asia,” said John Bongaarts of the non-profit Population Council.

To feed all those mouths, “we will need to produce as much food in the next 40 years as we have in the last 8,000,” said Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). “By 2050 we will not have a planet left that is recognizable” if current trends continue, Clay said.

The swelling population will exacerbate problems, such as resource depletion, said John Casterline, director of the Initiative in Population Research at Ohio State University.

But incomes are also expected to rise over the next 40 years — tripling globally and quintupling in developing nations — and add more strain to global food supplies. People tend to move up the food chain as

their incomes rise, consuming more meat than they might have when they made less money, the experts said.

It takes around seven pounds (3.4 kilograms) of grain to produce a pound of meat, and around three to four pounds of grain to produce a pound of cheese or eggs, experts told AFP. “More people, more money, more consumption, but the same planet,” Clay told AFP, urging scientists and governments to start making changes now to how food is produced. Population experts, meanwhile, called for more funding for family planning programs to help control the growth in the number of humans, especially in developing nations.

“For 20 years, there’s been very little investment in family planning, but there’s a return of interest now, partly because of the environmental factors like global warming and food prices,” said Bongaarts.

“We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning,” said Casterline.

Space weather could wreak havoc in gadget-driven world Agence France Presse

WASHINGTON – A geomagnetic space storm sparked by a solar eruption like the one that flared toward Earth Tuesday is bound to strike again and could wreak havoc across the gadget-happy modern world, experts say. Contemporary society is increasingly vulnerable to space weather because of our dependence on satellite systems for synchronizing computers, airline navigation, telecommunications networks and other electronic devices.

A potent solar storm could disrupt these technologies, scorch satellites, crash stock markets and cause power outages that last weeks or months, experts said Saturday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting. The situation will only get more dire because the solar cycle is heading into a period of more intense activity in the coming 11 years.

“This is not a matter of if, it is simply a matter of when and how big,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator Jane Lubchenco. “The last time we had a maximum in the solar cycle, about 10 years ago, the world was a very different place. Cell phones are now ubiquitous; they were certainly around (before) but we didn’t rely on them for so many different things,” she said.

“Many things that we take for granted today are so much more prone to the process of space weather than was the case in the last solar maximum.”

The experts admitted that currently, little that can be done to predict such a storm, much less shield the world’s electrical grid by doing anything other shutting off power to some of the vulnerable areas until the danger passes. “Please don’t panic,” said Stephan Lechner, director of the European Commission Joint Research Center, drawing laughter from the scientists and journalists in the audience. “Overreaction will

AFP/NASA/File

A NASA image of an erupting solar flare. A geomagnetic space storm sparked by a solar eruption like the one that flared toward Earth Tuesday is bound to strike again and could wreak havoc.

make the situation worse.”

The root of the world’s vulnerability in the modern age is global positioning systems, or GPS devices, that provide navigational help but also serve as time synchronizers for computer networks and electronic equipment, he said.

“GPS helped and created a new dependency,” said Lechner, noting that the technology’s influence extends to aerospace and defense, digital broadcast, financial services and government agencies. In Europe alone, there are 200 separate telecommunication operators, and “nothing is standardized,” he said. “We are far from understanding all the implications here,” he said.

14

Sport

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

International

Messi to the rescue as Barcelona go five clear in Spanish league Agence France Presse

MADRID – Argentine Lionel Messi scored a vital 77thminute winner as Barcelona laboured to a 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to restore their five-point lead over Real Madrid at the Spanish first division summit. Barcelona looked set to drop two more points after Andoni Iraola’s penalty had cancelled out David Villa’s third-minute opener, however, Messi popped up with his 25th league goal of the season to clinch the points at Camp Nou. “We couldn’t afford another slip-up as Real Madrid were close,” said Messi. “We won a very important match. There isn’t that much left of the league to go now and every game is vital.” It was Pep Guardiola’s 100th league match in charge of Barcelona and the manager was a relieved man as his side bounced back from their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Arsenal in midweek.

Real Madrid had closed to within two points of Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Levante and the Catalan club responded with a hard-fought victory. With their 2-1 defeat at Arsenal still fresh in their minds, Barcelona were keen to get off to a good start and took the lead after just three minutes through Villa.

A diagonal pass from Xavi picked out the run of right back Dani Alves and the Brazilian laid the ball back for Villa to stroke home his 16th league goal of the season. Bilbao could have equalised in the 10th minute with Fernando Llorente tricking Gerard Pique with a great drag back before crossing for Markel Susaeta, who headed just wide.

Villa was looking increasingly

threatening and almost scored his second on 26 minutes but his brilliant chip came back off the crossbar. The visitors had their chances though and stand-in goalkeeper Jose Pinto, deputising for the injured Victor Valdes, was forced to produce a fine diving save to stop a Llorente header in the 35th minute.

Barcelona then pressed the selfdestruct button to allow the visitors to equalise four minutes after the interval. French full back Eric Abidal sold team-mate Sergi Busquets short with a misplaced pass and the midfielder lunged in to take down Llorente and concede a penalty, which Iraola converted.

Messi came to life in the 58th minute, racing past three defenders before Fernando Amorabieta stopped him in his tracks in the box and Barcelona were furious as their penalty claims were turned down.

The breakthrough finally came in the 77th minute with Alves crossing for Messi to side-foot home with his weaker right foot.

Earlier, Villarreal missed the chance to close the gap on Champions League rivals Valencia, squandering more points in a 1-1 home draw against basement boys Malaga. Valencia’s 0-0 draw with

AFP PHOTO/ JOSEP LAGO

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) is congratuled by his teamates Barcelona’s forward David Villa (R) and Barcelona’s Brazilian defender Daniel Alves (L) after scoring during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao on February 20, 2011 at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.

Sporting Gijon on Saturday meant Villarreal could have gone third with victory, but Uruguayan Sebastian Fernandez scored an 82nd-minute equaliser to cancel out Marco Ruben’s first-half opener.

Villarreal stay fourth, two points behind Valencia, after collecting just one point from the last nine.

“We have let two points get away and we are not happy,” said

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido. “We could and should have won this match.

“In the build-up to their goal, it looked like there was a penalty for a foul on Nilmar, but it wasn’t awarded and the subsequent counter-attack ended with their goal.”

It was a satisfactory return to El Madrigal for Malaga manager

Manuel Pellegrini, who spent five successful years at Villarreal before leaving to become Real Madrid coach, although his side continue to prop up the table four points from safety.

In other matches, new Osasuna coach Jose Luis Mendilibar enjoyed a dream first match in charge as his side routed Espanyol 4-0 in Pamplona.

Wenger stumped by Orient hero Tehoue Agence France Presse

AP Photo/Tom Hevezi

Leyton Orient’s Jonathan Tehoue, no 18, scores the equalizing goal against Arsenal during their fifth round English FA Cup soccer match at the Brisbane Road stadium, London, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.

LONDON – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted he had never heard of the player whose late equaliser earned Leyton Orient of League One (third division) a 1-1 draw in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Wenger’s fellow Frenchman Jonathan Tehoue came off the bench on Sunday to score against the Premier League title contenders, who had beaten Barcelona in the Champions League just five days previously.

The 89th-minute goal earned Orient a lucrative replay at the Emirates Stadium on March 2, with both teams having discovered before kick-off that the winners will travel to Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Arsenal will be huge favourites to come through the tie and move on to Old Trafford but the Gunners had no answer to Tehoue after Tomas Rosicky had headed the visitors in front early in the second half.

The Frenchman beat goalkeeper Manuel Almunia with a low drive from

just inside the area that Wenger had not been expecting, even though the Arsenal manager is famed for his encyclopedic knowledge of the game. “I don’t know him,” Wenger admitted. “I saw him when he came on but I never heard a thing before.” Wenger, who made 10 changes from the starting line-up that had come from behind to beat Barcelona, does not always lavish praise on the opposition but did so on this occasion. “That is what football is about,” he said. “I believed we played the game in the right spirit and I cannot fault our fighting spirit but you have to give credit as well to Leyton Orient — they never gave up.

“And if you don’t score the second goal then that kind of thing can happen. It is a disappointment, of course, but we are still in the competition. “The most important thing is that we go through. Orient showed fighting spirit against a side that was technically superior but in a cup game, fighting spirit has a chance.”

Orient manager Russell Slade was understandably delighted with Tehoue’s contribution after replacing Scott McGleish just after the hour mark.

“To be 1-0 down to Arsenal and everything looking like it was slip-sliding away, to get that goal was great timing,” said Slade.

“It meant they couldn’t get Cesc Fabregas on or anybody else who might undo us. He (Tehoue) has scored all of his eight goals in the 85th minute onwards. He is our super-sub. He’s our secret weapon — brilliant!” The player himself revealed why he was always on the bench instead of in the starting line-up.

“I am still overweight,” he said. “I had a bad hamstring injury and was out for four months.” Orient owner Barry Hearn will now have to make good on a promise to take the players to Las Vegas if they avoided defeat. “The lads had Elvis Presley on when he walked in the changing room, singing ‘Viva Las Vegas’,” Slade revealed.

Sport

International

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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Kobe wins 4th MVP in West’s NBA All-Star win Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant felt LeBron James coming, seeking one of his chase-down blocks that would have further energized an East team that had momentum. So Bryant jumped a little bit quicker and slammed it down over his pursuer — “I kind of snuck it by him,” Bryant said — then threw in a 3-pointer on the next possession for good measure to put the West back in control.

Nothing was going to stop Bryant from a victory in this All-Star game, not on his home floor. Shining brightest again among the stars, Bryant brought Showtime back to the All-Star game, scoring 37 points and tying a record with his fourth MVP award in the Western Conference’s 148-143 victory over the East on Sunday night.

“I feel like we have a sense of responsibility and we are voted in for what we do during the season, which is play hard,” Bryant said.

“And we come here, that’s what the fans want to see. They want to see us go at it and see us compete and that’s what I try to do and that’s what I try to tell my teammates to do.”

Returning to the game he dominates after a one-year absence, Bryant added 14 rebounds in a spectacular performance in front of the usual celebrity-filled crowd that turns out to see his Lakers at Staples Center.

“It was like playing in a playground. It was like a pickup game almost,” Oklahoma City’s Kevin

Durant said. “Just to watch it, I see it on TV all the time, I play against him all the time. But to be on his team and see the things that he was doing out there is just amazing.”

Durant chipped in 34 points, scoring five straight after the East cut a 17-point deficit after three quarters to two points with 2:34 to play. The NBA scoring leader added the clinching free throws after the East got back within three in the final seconds.

James powered the East rally, finishing with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to join Michael Jordan as the only players with a tripledouble in the All-Star game. Amare Stoudemire also scored 29, but Miami’s Dwyane Wade, the MVP of the East’s win last year, had to leave with an ankle injury after scoring 14.

Plenty of Hollywood giants were sitting courtside, but Bryant’s popularity here can rival most of them. This week, he became the first athlete to have his handprints and footprints put in concrete outside Hollywood’s famed Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Bryant, who missed last year’s game

in Dallas with an ankle injury, told fans to “enjoy the show” before the tip, and as always he delivered a good one.

Always more about focus than fun, Bryant had 21 points by the time Rihanna came out for her halftime performance, putting him halfway to Wilt Chamberlain’s record from 1962, the year of his 100-point game. “You could tell he started out from the start, he wanted to get the MVP,” Stoudemire said. “He was not passing the ball, at all. But that’s Kobe.”

And when the East made it close in the third quarter, Bryant threw down his dunk over the chasing James, then nailed a 3-pointer to make it 90-79.

“He was unbelievable tonight,” James said. “You definitely saw his motor was going tonight.”

Carmelo Anthony scored eight points in his possible goodbye to the West team. The weekend was dominated by talk of a potential trade to New York or New Jersey, and the Denver Nuggets forward appeared alternately entertained and annoyed by the constant questions.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images/AFP

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Western Conference dunks the ball in front of LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat and the Eastern Conference in the second half of the 2011 NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center on February 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

Wozniacki wins Dubai Open tennis final Agence France Presse

DUBAI – Caroline Wozniacki, who takes over from Kim Clijsters as world number one again in Monday’s new WTA ranking list, celebrated with the 13th title of her career, the Dubai Open, on Sunday after outplaying Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3. Denmark’s Wozniacki turned in her fifth solid performance of the week against Kuznetsova, even though the former US and French Open champion had previously been showing signs of revival after more than six months in the doldrums.

Wozniacki broke serve at once for 2-0, and although she played one indifferent game, broke twice more to capture a one-sided first set in only half an hour. Kuznetsova only briefly threatened a fightback as she broke serve when Wozniacki tried to close the match out at 5-2, but made far too many unforced errors to trouble the athletic, consistent Dane.

“I was very happy with my performance,” Wozniacki said. “I went for my shots and I am definitely playing better than I have before.”

Wozniacki certainly came forward more often than she used to,

AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark holds her trophy after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in their WTA Dubai Tennis Championship final match in the Gulf emirate on February 20, 2011.

and was notably potent with a backhand drive hit with accelerated pace down the line. But the foundation of her success was still based on her excellent movement, smoothly constructed rallying, good concentration, and intelligent tactics.

On one occasion in the first set

she did all this so well that a man yelled out “I love you, Wozniacki,” making the crowd titter.

Importantly, she made a livelier start than in the semi-finals when she had gone 0-3 down to Jelena Jankovic and had then slipped to set point down before recovering.

Cyclist has wood removed from leg after crash Agence France Presee

MANCHESTER, England – Malaysian cyclist Azizulhasni Awang staggered across the line at the Track World Cup with a bronze medal and a 7.8-inch piece of wood sticking through his left calf. Awang had surgery Sunday to remove the massive splinter, a day after a crash at the Manchester Velodrome sent it through his leg.

Awang managed to remount his bike after the high-speed crash in Saturday’s Keirin final and stagger across the line to claim a bronze medal. He was rushed to the hospital but doctors waited until Sunday to carry out the procedure to remove the splinter.

“Operation done. Splinter taken out cleanly,” Awang wrote

on his Twitter account. “Thanks for the prayer n support.” Awang, who is renowned for his trademark wheelie as he crosses the line, has been ruled out of the world championships next month.

“He was in a lot of pain but he’s a really tough kid, all these Keirin riders are,” Malaysia coach John Beasley was quoted as saying on the Daily Telegraph website. “It was decided to leave it overnight to get a specialist surgical team in and scan the injury from all angles to aid the operation.

“The good news is that there doesn’t appear to be much nerve damage, which is your first worry.” The focus now for the 23year-old Awang is getting back in shape in time for the 2012 Olympics in London.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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

Sport

Trulli’s crash ends Lotus test early BARCELONA - Lotus has ended the final day of testing at Barcelona early after a car failure caused Jarno Trulli to crash this morning. The Italian lost control of the T128 in Campsa corner and hit the wall on the outside. The team has not confirmed the exact cause of the crash, but there was oil left on the circuit on the approach to the corner.

“Unfortunately the day was cut short due to the accident,” chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne said. “It was not his fault - it was caused by a car failure. “We are missing a part we need to put the car back together, which meant we had to cut day four short.”

Trulli said: “It’s obviously disappointing to have the test cut short like this, but these things happen in motor racing. We started the day well and until the accident happened I had picked up where I left off yesterday.

“The car has good balance, pace we can build on and has the potential to help us take the fight to the midfield, so I’m leaving here feeling confident about the season

ahead and am looking forward to the next test, wherever that will be.”

Gascoyne added that Lotus still had a productive week in Spain.

“I still think there are a great deal of positives to take from the test, in terms of the pace of the car and the fact that we are on top of the reliability issues,” he said.

“With that in mind we leave here with work to do but still on target for where we want to be.”

Lotus team’s Italian driver Jarno Trulli waves before a training session at Jerez racetrack, on February 11, 2011 in Jerez.

AFP PHOTO / JORGE GUERRERO.

Mixed response to Pirelli wear rates LEADING Formula 1 drivers say the need to preserve the new-for2011 Pirelli tyres will totally change the way they go racing - though Mark Webber has warned that judgement should be withheld until they are tried in race conditions.

Pirelli has responded to calls for higher tyre-wear rates and deliberately designed rubber that will not

be capable of lasting as long as the 2010 Bridgestones. The aim is to create more exciting grands prix both by prompting extra pitstops and creating a situation where drivers will be running at different pace depending on how they are handling their tyres. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton said he was not enjoying having to nurse the tyres.

“It’s very strange. Even [compared to] last year when we had heavy fuel and you had to drive it a little bit easier at the beginning of the race to preserve the tyres,” he said.

“Today I probably drove a little bit easier on the first long run, but the tyres just go away so fast and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“The second run I tried to look

Monday deadline for test decision FORMULA 1 teams will meet tomorrow night to make a final decision on whether the final pre-season test in Bahrain will go ahead, AUTOSPORT can reveal. The Barcelona test concludes on Monday and sources indicate that it is impossible to delay making a call any longer because of the problems that could arise from uncertainty over whether to go to Bahrain or re-

main in Spain.

Barcelona and Jerez are strong candidates to hold the replacement test and if Bahrain were dropped, teams would need to put into place alternative logistical plans as soon as the test finishes tomorrow.

FOTA’s sporting group met on Friday night to put contingency plans into place, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner saying

that the fate of the Bahrain test would be linked to any decision made on whether the grand prix would go ahead.

“It’s obviously a really difficult situation in Bahrain, but we have complete trust in Bernie, FOM and the FIA to make the right decision,” said Horner on Friday. “They will only send us there if it is safe.

“It would be a great shame to lose the race, but it’s not the teams’ decision - it’s down to the promoter.

Bernie [Ecclestone] and the FIA will have much more information than us and we will trust their decisions.”

AUTOSPORT understands that FOTA remains in contact with both Ecclestone and the FIA over the situation surrounding the Bahrain Grand Prix, meaning that although the test decision is likely to be made before a definitive choice has made on the F1 season opener, it is still likely to be guided partly by the commercial rights holder and the sport’s governing body. The FIA and Ecclestone do not have a direct say in the test, as it is organised and run by the teams.

after it even more and it was like driving an out-lap, very slow and not particularly exciting. It lasted a little bit longer but it didn’t feel like I was really racing the car.” He feels the tyre strategy is making driving less of a challenge.

“On these tyres you have to drive very slow and it’s not very physical at the moment,” said Hamilton. “I did 90 laps today and I feel like I could start all over again, it was that easy to drive.”

Hamilton suggested that it was also harder to judge the new McLaren’s true performance because the team could not tell whether issues were car or tyre-related.

“It feels difficult to know how much of it is car and how much is tyres,” he said after today’s Barcelona test session. “The tyres are very difficult to use this year, and when you come here even more hardcore than it was in the last two tests we had.”