Edisi 22 Agustus 2011 | International Bali Post

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16 Pages Number 173 3st Year Price: Rp 3.000,-

e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

PAGE 8

Jerry Lewis: Saving lives through MDA was honor PAGE 12 IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Vice Governor of Bali AA. Puspayoga giving the Bali Post’s scholarship to students during the celebration of 63th anniversary of Bali Post in Art Center, Saturday, August 20, 2011.

Bali Post Commemoration Event

Handing Over Donation and Scholarships Bali Post

WEATHER FORECAST CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

21 - 30

JAKARTA

24 - 32

BANDUNG

17 - 25

YOGYAKARTA

19 - 31

SURABAYA

19 - 31

SUNNY

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Denpasar – To commemorate the 63rd Anniversary, Bali Post held many charity events. One of them is the donation named “Dompet Bali Post” which was given to five people needed it the most.

Government disciplines illegal villas half-heartedly

They need the donation to cure their sickness or to repair their badly damaged house. Donation was also given to three schools including scholarship to 40 students and to Negara Gambur Anglayang and Besakih Temple.

The donation was given in the peak of the anniversary event which was held on Saturday, August 20, 2011 in Ardha Candra Open Stage in Art Center, Denpasar. The event was attended

by The Vice of Bali Governor, A.A. Ngurah Puspayoga and wife, the Head of Indonesian National Bank (BNI), Frito Marcevianto, and the Head of Bali Post Media

THE rise of illegal tourist accommodations especially villas in Bali, according to the Dean of Law Faculty of Udayana University, Prof. Dr. IGN Wairocana, was caused by the weak law enforcement. Government seemed to have carried out the mandate of Regional Regulation (Perda) as well as existing legislation half-heartedly so it then triggered the mushrooming of such accommodation business.

“If government has commitment in enforcing the rules, it must guard the investors since the very beginning namely licensing process until the project

Group, Satria Naradha.

Thousands of people also came to watch the event. The donation was given to Pande Gde Eka and Dewa Gde Wiratama, from Kediri, Tabanan, Angga Dirga Yusa from Denpasar, Desak Dwi Widya Putri (Denpasar), and M. Firdaus Rizkiyullah (Gianyar).

The housing donation given by the Head of Bali Post Media Group, Satria Naradha, to the Head of Keramas Village Society, Nyoman Rai which will be given to the one who need it. While the donation for the temples was given by the Vice Governor and for the schools was by the Head of BNI. Continued on page 6

is executed. On that account, any fraud can be minimized,” said IGN Wairocana in Denpasar on Friday (Aug19).

According to him, due to weak supervision of government in enforcing the rules, many zoning violations occurred almost in all regencies/city whether violations of coastal boundary lines, boundary of river, encroachment of wetland and a sacred area as well as the emergence of various buildings that did not meet the area designation such as hotels, villas, settlements or buildings for business activities.

Continued on page 6

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International

Monday, August 22, 2011

Bali News Bali Consumes 110,000 Chickens Per Day, Stock Still Safe Denpasar (Bali Post) –

Bali Province Livestock Agency noted that Bali consumes up to 100,000-110,000 chickens and 1 million eggs weighing 90 tonnes per day. “The population of chickens producing eggs now are up to 5 million from breeders in Bali so the supply of eggs are safe,” Head of Agency, Putu Sumantra, stated last Friday (18/8) when contacted.

Sumantra made sure that before and after Eid there won’t be any problem on it moreover right now chicken meats and eggs are overstocked. “The breeders actually asked me to halt the new permit for breeding as right now there are enough stock so the price also stabile on the markets,” he explained.

He then continued stating that the Agency has asked producers or breeders to also control the production capacity and if an increase is needed as they also distribute eggs to outside Bali. Meanwhile on increasing the capacity next year, Sumantra explained that depends on the market to prevent any damage to its price. (par) IBP/Ole

Budget hotels lack of guests

The bee farmers are checking their farm. After four years of best quality bee cultivation at Madenan Village, Tejakula, is at last on the brick of bankruptcy.

Room renovation appeals tourists

Food Difficulties, Bee Cultivation Bankrupt

Denpasar (Bali Post)—

A number of budget hotel management in the area of Denpasar confessed to face a bad season of tourist visit since entering the holy month of Ramadhan. The hotel occupancy averagely reaching 80-90 percent is now only inhabited by 24 guests due to lack of domestic tourists holidaying.

Drop in room occupancy rates during Ramadhan as recognized by the owner of Hotel Indah Dewata, Wayan Suparta Wijaya, indeed routinely occurred. However, the expenditure during the low season would be covered by revenue during the Idul Fitri feast day.

“The lacking of guest only occurs during fasting period, but hotel occupancy will soar back up to 100 percent before Idul Fitri. Even, a number of hotels will reject guests because they have been fully booked,” said Suparta Wijaya in Denpasar on Friday (Aug 19).

According to him, during the lacking of visitors, the budget hotels took advantage of the opportunity by doing a number of improvements to welcome guests during Idul Fitri moment later. Renovation measure had been done since the beginning of Ramadhan and would be accomplished before Idul Fitri.

“It is not only hotel occupancy

facing a drop during the fasting month. The number of meetings held by government agencies, Stateowned Enterprises and private companies in the hotel also declines,” he said.

Meanwhile, an officer of Taman Hotel, Nyoman Narsih, also confirmed the arrival of domestic tourists in the month of fasting usually dropped dramatically. The condition would recover ten days before Idul Fitri. “The room occupancy rate during Idul Fitri can reach 90 percent,” she said.

Nevertheless, lethargy of hotel occupancy in this Ramadhan, revealed Narsih, would at least be better than last year. A year ago, the occupancy rate was below 30 percent. “But, when entering the middle of Ramadhan, it will start to be normal again. Peak of the occupancy will happen during Idul Fitri. I am very optimistic because the status of room reservation has been fully booked and so has in other hotels,” she explained.

Low room occupancy rate in Denpasar ahead of Idul Fitri was also recognized by the Head of Denpasar Government Tourism Office, Putu Budiasa. However, the lack of domestic tourist arrivals to Bali was a commonplace every year before the month of fasting until Idul Fitri. (par)

Singaraja (Bali Post) –

After four years of best quality bee cultivation at Madenan Village, Tejakula, is at last on the brick to bankrupt. The bee that was bought by an aid fee from Buleleng Forestry and Plantation Agency for IDR 20 million now has extinct as there are not enough food for the bees. Head of Agro Business Section, Nyoman Tisna, as permitted by Head of the Agency, Ir. Komang Gede Yasa, stated that the bees were brought from

Malang, East Java at the year 2008 where farmers still able to find food for breeding bees and honey producers bees which they will able to produce up to 400 bottles of honey. “Before it extinct, farmers only able to get income IDR 17 million which hasn’t cover the modal fully,” Tisna explained.

The bees usually eats corn flowers yet because there was none, some of them died and others left their nest then flew to the forest to find its own food. Tisna explained the Agency and the farmers have tried to find a

location to get enough food for the bees yet it was not successful. In other hand, farmers who has experienced in cultivating bees are still on spirit to keep the profession. With their skills, now they cultivate local Bali bees yet its honey production is very limited and so orders can’t be always fulfilled due to the same reasoning which is its food. “We actually wanted to get its sample first yet all groups we came to doesn’t have its honey,” Tisna concluded. (kmb)

Don’t Move Stories House to Bali Denpasar (Bali Post) –

The chance to build stacked houses in Denpasar seemed to worry everyone after Denpasar House of Representatives Spatial Planning Regulation Special Committee decline it and hoped this kind of housing in Jakarta should not be “moved” to Denpasar as it is not suitable for the culture and the narrow nature of Bali.

However, Sanur’s public figure, A.A. Putu Wijaya, SH, when contacted last Friday (19/8), stated

there’s nothing wrong about it remembering the limited lands while housing is further needed here. The former Representative thinks what’s important is the control over the construction which means those who will build it needs a supervision from the planning, the permits, until the construction.

“The concept of stacked houses in Jakarta is not necessarily moved to Bali and shouldn’t. Its shape and height shouldn’t violate the existing regulation and so it shouldn’t be like the one in Jakarta as Bali

has its own regulation on building architecture where those who’s building obligated to do,” he continued.

Before Head of Denpasar Spatial Planning and Housing Agency, I Made Kusuma Diputra, admitted the plan for stacked houses has been in the draft of Spatial Planning Planned Regulation due to stacked houses became a national program. Just yet for Denpasar it needs a further special regulation which won’t be an opposite to the Balinese culture. (kmb12)

z Founder : K.Nadha, z General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti z Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Wirya, Yudi Winanto zDenpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bali Putra Ariawan. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. z Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. z Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 0215357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

Bali News

International

Monday, August 22, 2011

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In Gianyar, Balinese architectural building lies in discourse only Gianyar (Bali Post)—

Regency of Gianyar has proclaimed itself as a culture-based tourist destination. Though it has been doing thorough supervision and control against physical development activities mainly in the region usually passed through by tourists, the buildings with Balinese ornament becoming one of the requirements for the development as stipulated in regional legislation must be enforced so that it does not only lie in a discourse.

Results of observation made

by Bali Post on Friday (Aug 19), it seemed the rapid growth of development in Gianyar virtually had forgotten the characteristic style of Balinese architectural building. Many buildings looked to pay no attention to the existence of Balinese architecture.

Surprisingly, despite the development activities had posted the placard of building permit (IMB) along with its complete number, the buildings were far deviating from the nuances of Balinese architecture.

The most striking, based on a few observations, was the building located on the road section of Mas - Ubud. On the west side of the road, a building looked so strange and in principle it was far away from the concept of Bali development without showing off

the characteristic of Bali. As a result, this drew the public attention. At the same time, people then questioned the commitment of regency government primarily the agency related to the construction supervision in Gianyar.

Wayan Ari Arsania, a businessman and Chairman of the Gianyar Chamber of Commerce and Industry also questioned the existence of such eccentric building.

According to him, the existence of the building was already known by relevant agency in Gianyar Regency. However, it seemed indifferent to the process undertaken. As the result, condition of the building made was still far from the desire of cultural preservation, particularly in terms of architecture showing off the characteristic of Balinese style. (kmb16)

Despite pests attack rice plants

Buleleng even reaches rice surplus Singaraja (Bali Post)—

Though since two years ago a prolonged rainy season led to the emergence of pests attack to rice plants, Buleleng Regency was even reported to reach a rice surplus.

Even, due to the surplus, Buleleng was awarded the National Rice Production Increase (P2BN) 2009/2010 together with a number of other regencies in Bali.

Head of Buleleng Agricultural and Livestock Agency, Putu Merta Jiwa, said on Friday (Aug 19) that in 2009 the productivity of dry grain mill (GKG) in Buleleng attained 66.64 quintal per hectare with a production of 86.159 tons of rice.

Meanwhile, the rice need of the community in Buleleng amounted to 76,847 tons. So, based on the result of calculations was obtained a surplus of 9,312 tons. It was based on the Annual Report of Statistics of Food and Horticulture in 2009/ 2010.

In the meantime, in 2010, said

Mertha Jiwa, the productivity of dry grain mill in Buleleng reached 60.58 quintal per hectare with a production of 76.941 tons of rice. While the rice need of Buleleng community numbered 73.718 tons so that it got a surplus of 3,223 tons. “Although the surplus obtained in 2010 was lower than in 2009, it has indicated that Buleleng Regency has been able to meet the need of rice with the acquisition of surplus value,” he said.

Mertha Jiwa admitted the extreme weather of prolonged and erratic rain since the past two years in fact had influenced the development of plant disturbing organisms (pests) such as tungro and rat. However, it could have been overcome by pest control so the rice production could eventually be saved in general. “Thanks God, we can also get advantage from such a hostile season as indicated by the increase of cropping index (IP) in Buleleng,” he added. (kmb15)

IBP/File

The book parcel seller is making the order of their customers.

Parcel sellers ‘scream’ as lack of orders Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Since the release of ban for the officials to receive parcels from 2004, many parcel sellers began to complain as their merchandise is increasingly sluggish. Turnover of their sales continue to decline and this has an impact on the number of parcels sold each year. Even, before Idul Fitri this year they only get a few orders. Before issuance of the ban, every major religious holidays or New Year, the parcel businessmen were often flooded with orders.

Jro Nengah Sukerti, for instance, a parcel trader on Jalan Patimura, claimed to encounter a decline each year up to 50 percent since the ban. She said, up to nine days before the feast day, there had been no indication of the increasing number of buyers.

“By and large, two weeks before Idul Fitri her orders have flooded in, but it is now deserted. Different from Galungan and Kuningan, the order of par-

cel is pretty much,” she said. The woman who had deeply involved in the business for decades recognized that before the ban her orders reached 100 packages earmarked for governant agency.

Based on such condition, she predicted the sale of parcels during the Idul Fitri this year would drop again to 40-50 packages.

“The order of parcels currently tends to experience a shift, too.

Before the ban, the order of parcel leads to the large size package worth IDR 500,000 to millions of rupiahs. Now, the smaller size tends to be in demand with the price starting from IDR 200,000,” she said. On average, the price hike of parcel was about IDR 25,000 to IDR 50,000 because of expensive raw materials. Most parcels today led to the company by the name of institution instead of individuals. The most favorite parcels belonged to the category of food and beverage as well as glassware.

“By the last week of fasting, the order was only around 4 packages

from the public and private companies. Meanwhile, the order of agency offices had not been received and it was usually very rare,” she said. Similar condition was also experienced by other seasonal parcel traders such as Made Adi. He was pessimistic to make a better profit on this Idul Fitri than in previous years. Last year, he obtained an order amounted to some 175 packages, but currently he only received few incoming orders. “I’m still hoping there will be some orders ahead of Idul Fitri. Ordinarily, we get fewer profits because the price of raw materials goes up,” he said. According to him, the impact of prohibition of giving parcel to civil servants and the officials was very discernible because the sales turnover dropped as well. For information, previously government had issued the ban for the officials to receive parcel of Idul Fitri as an effort to avoid the bribe practice. (bit)

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News

Monday, August 22, 2011

International

North Korean leader welcomed by Russian officials Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il praised the development that is being seen in Russia as he was welcomed by officials at the start of a rare trip to the Cold War era ally, North Korean state media reported Sunday.

Kim crossed into Russia on his armored train Saturday at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev, with the two leaders reportedly planning a summit aimed at discussing the restart of nuclear disarmament talks and the construction of a pipeline that would stream Russian natural gas to North and South Korea.

The train stopped in the Russian border city of Khasan on Saturday morning before moving on to its next destination, the official Korean Central News Agency reported from Pyongyang. KCNA and the Kremlin had said earlier that Kim would visit Russia’s Far

East region and Siberia.

At Khasan’s railway station, Kim was greeted by senior Russian officials, including Viktor Ishayev, presidential envoy to the Far East Region of the Russian Federation, KCNA said.

The Russian officials said Kim’s trip would mark a historic occasion in moving bilateral ties to a “fresher and higher stage,” KCNA said. Kim replied he was very pleased to see the achievements of the Russian people and thanked the Russian officials and people for warmly welcoming him, it said.

After leaving Khasan, Kim’s train continued to travel west, stopping briefly at the Khabarovsk railway station before arriving in Amur Region in the Far East on Sunday morning, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing unidentified diplomatic sources. In Amur, Kim toured a large-scale hydroelectric power plant, it said.

AP Photo/Hussein Malla, file

File— In this March 2008 file photo, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi , left, gestures with Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, during the opening session of the Arab Summit in Damascus, Syria.

Syria’s president to appear in TV interview Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT — Syria’s President Bashar Assad will comment on U.S. and European demands that he step down and sanctions in an interview that will be broadcast Sunday on state television.

AP Photo/Kyodo News

A train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Il runs in Russia’s Far East on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. Kim arrived in Russia on Saturday and will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev during a visit expected to last a week, the Kremlin said.

The state-run news agency said Assad will also speak about government reforms and his “future vision” for Syria.

The television interview, scheduled for after the evening news broadcast, will be Assad’s fourth public appearance since the revolt against his family’s 40year rule erupted in mid-March.

It is very rare for Assad to give an interview to a local media outlet.

In his previous appearances, he gave nationally televised speeches that further inflamed tensions on the streets and led to even larger protests calling for his downfall.

In his last speech on June 20, he blamed the unrest on a foreign conspiracy and on “saboteurs,” offered modest potential reforms, but gave no sign he’d move toward ending the his family’s political domination in the country.

The Syrian leader has come under mounting criticism over the brutal military offensive that has used tanks, snipers and gunboats to try to crush the 5-month-old uprising. Most recently, the United States and its European allies on Thursday demanded he step down.

On Saturday, the government issued its first official response.

The daily Al-Thawra newspaper, which speaks for the Syrian regime, rejected the Obama administration’s calls and any kind of foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs, saying Damascus “will never permit anyone to do that.”

It rejected the demands on Assad to step down, saying they revealed the “face of the conspiracy” against Damascus.

There has been no official comment in Syria following Assad’s declaration to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon on Wednesday that military and security operations have stopped.

The government’s offensive has continued across the country, although on a smaller scale, despite that pledge.

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi ‘happy’ after meeting president Associated Press Writer

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Saturday she was pleased with her first meeting with the military-dominated country’s new president. It was her highest contact with the new government since her release from house arrest last November.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate told reporters she was “happy and satisfied” with the meeting Friday.

She spoke after attending a government-sponsored forum in the capital, Naypyitaw.

The government’s invitation to Suu Kyi has generated optimism that the nominally civilian govern-

ment of President Thein Sein is willing to hold a dialogue with the opposition. Suu Kyi has repeatedly called for talks since her release from seven years of house arrest.

“I hope and believe there will be better understanding” with the government, Suu Kyi spokesman Nyan Win told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Officials warmly greeted Suu Kyi on Saturday at the governmentrun forum, where she chatted with several over coffee. It was in a stark contrast with the 15 of the past 22 years she has spent under house arrest. During her last seven-year stretch she lived with two female members of her National League for Democracy party and rarely

was allowed to see anyone else.

Suu Kyi was driven home to Yangon in a government car after attending the forum.

In their meeting Friday, Suu Kyi and Thein Sein held “frank and friendly discussions” to “find ways and means of cooperation,” state-run newspapers reported Saturday with pictures of them greeting each other.

In Brussels, the European Union welcomed the meeting as a “positive first step.”

“National reconcilliation is very important for all the people of Burma/Myanmar,” said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. “We very much hope this meeting bears fruit in the longer term.”

AP Photo/Khin Maung Win

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, center, claps hands as she attends a national economic development forum in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

International

Activities

Monday, August 22, 2011

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Potato Head Beach Club Summer Syndrome IBP

Potato Head presents Summer Syndrome, which is going to be the main episode of our lineup this August, dedicating our policy to a “Strict Costume Party”. It will be your time to Walk into a Dream, with the most elaborate, or simple costume you can think of.

The main headline of Summer Syndrome will be Empire of the Sun performing live in Potato Head Beach Club Burning throughout the globe in the last 3 years, EOS have been delivering spectacular Live Shows with a touch of Magic, which is reminiscent of a Carnival Theatre. Combining Dreamy imagery and melodic electronic sounds with visual artistry, the audience is taken by the voice of lead man Luke Steele.

EOS achieved chart success with their first single “Walking on a Dream” which peaked around the world, and in itself became synonymous with Indie-Alternative success, within the music industry. Their debut album also titled Walking on a Dream released in October 2008, to date has been certified platinum in Australia, gold in the UK and Germany. It has sold one million copies to date and has spawned the hit single “We Are the People” It will definitely be one of the highlights of your summer, a night you wouldn’t want to miss!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Monday, August 22, 2011

News 3 dead, 70 others rescued in Philippine ferry fire Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines — An inter-island ferry with at least 75 people caught fire amid stormy weather in the central Philippines on Sunday, leaving 3 people dead, one missing while the rest were rescued, officials said.

The steel-hulled M/V Island Fastcraft 1 was cruising toward Cebu province when it caught fire during a downpour, prompting several passengers to jump into the churning waters. Three of them drowned.

Most of the passengers were rescued by a passing ship, said coast guard officer Fidel Hibaya said.

Coast guard chief Admiral Ramon Liwag said one passenger was reported missing. It was not immediately clear what sparked the blaze, but there was a report of an electrical problem in the engine

Handing...

AP Photo/Cornelius Poppe, Scanpix

Survivors and their relatives of the July 22 attack visit the island of Utoya in Norway Saturday Aug. 20 2011. Up to 1,000 survivors and relatives were expected on Utoya island, accompanied by police and medical staff, to face the painful memories of the shooting spree by a right-wing extremist.

Norway remembers 77 killed in massacre Associated Press Writer

OSLO, Norway — Norway is paying tribute on Sunday to 77 people killed in last month’s bombing and shooting massacre by a right-wing extremist.

A memorial service at the Spektrum Arena in central Oslo, to be broadcast live on national television, will be attended by the families of victims and survivors of the July 22 car bombing and shooting spree.

Norway’s King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will address the ceremony, to be attended by government members, lawmakers and leading politicians from neighboring Nordic countries.

The ceremony includes performances by some of Norway’s top names in music, including 1980s pop group A-ha, soprano Sissel Kyrkjeboe, rap group Karpe Diem and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

Anders Behring Breivik has admitted killing 77 people last month when he first detonated a truck bomb outside government offices in Oslo, and then went on a meticulously planned shooting spree at a youth camp on the island of Utoya, some 25 miles (40

kilometers) away.

Breivik, 32, denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway, claiming it was aimed at purging Europe of Muslims and punishing politicians who have embraced multiculturalism.

Breivik was arrested on Utoya 90 minutes after he began his deadly attack. Earlier this week, an Oslo court extended his isolation detention by another four weeks.

On Saturday, some 1,000 survivors and relatives traveled to Utoya, accompanied by police and medical staff, to face the painful memories of the scenes of the shootings. Their visit followed a similar one Friday by 500 relatives of the deceased.

One of the survivors, Stine Renate Haaheim, said her feelings ranged from emptiness and extreme grief to joy when she returned on Saturday to the island, used as a recreational center by Norway’s ruling

Labor Party.

“There was an extreme mix of feelings because it was very difficult and we are still in grief, but at the same time I was looking forward to seeing Utoya,” she told the AP after the visit. I was hoping that in some kind of way it will still be the same island as it used to be” The hardest part was seeing where her friends died, the 27-yearold lawmaker said.

“We started going around to all the places where our friends were killed and just taking a minute of silence and trying to remember all the good times we had with them and that was extremely hard, I think it’s not possible to explain the feelings,” Haaheim said, fighting back tears.

Sunday’s memorial service marks an end to a month of mourning in the Scandinavian country that was shocked by the attacks in a prosperous and generally tolerant and tranquil society.

From page 1 During the event, there were also awards given to the heaviest human in Bali and the woman who has the longest hair. The unique competition was also held to commemorate the anniversary of Bali Post.

In the peak of the event, there was also performance of Balinese traditional play or drama gong entitled “I

room before the fire. An investigation was under way, Liwag said.

The captain apparently ordered passengers and crew to abandon the ship when the fire began to spread, said Hibaya, commander of the coast guard detachment in Tubigon town in Bohol Province where the ferry originated. The dead included the chief mate and two passengers, the coast guard said.

Liwag said his personnel alerted ships in the area to help in the rescue, preventing a larger number of casualties. Sea accidents are common in the archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing more than 4,341 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Gede Basur”. The performance was

by Dwi Mekar Art Group from Singaraja lead by Nyoman Durpa.

The art group was collaborating with the students of Mangku Teja from Bangli who also act as the coordinator of the performance. There was also performance by Langlang Buana, Widi BRTV and Bali Post choir. Bali Post also gave away prizes to the audiences such as free subscription, phones and Blackberry. (kmb13)

Government...

From page 1 Regional Regulation and other rules concerning with the sustainability of Bali so far seemed powerless due to the sale and purchase of law.

“They should put more emphasis in enforcing the rules for Bali in the future rather than anticipating the existing laws for individual interests,” he said.

He added that government should dare to take decisive action against all existing violations in order to create a deterrent effect. “Violated buildings must be dismantled. By doing so, those who will invest in Bali will be thinking twice to break the laws,” he said.

Chairman of Bali Villas Association (BVA), Ismoyo S Soemarlan, previously also proposed the designation of accommodation which had been recorded or disciplined whether they were belonged to villas, houses or anything else. On that account, everything would be very clear.

“For villas that have not had permission can be directed to submit their permit, while the stubborn ones must be dealt with

firmly by sealing them,” he said.

According to Ismoyo, there were currently hundreds of illegal villas scattered and kept mushrooming, especially in the region of Badung Regency. If they were not disciplined, aside from triggering unfair competition, they would also lead to tax losses for government.

“Of the 800 villas existing in Bali, we estimate only about 500 that have had official permit,” he said. He also explained that data collection of the legal tourist accommodation would be distributed to tourists through consulates or embassy of neighboring countries, police, local government and travel agencies.

“We will also provide directory for the airports and seaports,” he continued. The measure, acknowledged by Ismoyo, was to prevent the occurrence of adverse things for tourists, the association and local government. So far, those illegal tourist accommodation facilities often ignored the police’s minimum standards of security.

So far, the legal villas had been obliged to meet the minimum standards of security. (par)

Indonesia Today

International

Indonesia says Patek could face death penalty Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - Indonesian police said Thursday they will charge Bali bomb suspect Umar Patek under the anti-terrorism law as well as with premeditated murder, either of which could see him executed if convicted.

AP Photo/Indonesian National Police

In this undated photo released by Indonesian National Police, the latest appearance of al-Qaida-linked Indonesian militant Umar Patek is shown.

National police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said the 41-year-old who was arrested in Pakistan earlier this year had breached the 2003 anti-terror law by smuggling weapons and concealing information about a terrorist training camp.

He would be charged under the criminal code with premeditated murder in relation to the 202 people killed in bombings of tourist night-spots on Bali Island in 2002.

Police say Patek has confessed to assembling the bombs used in the Bali attacks, as well as to carrying out out a series of church bombings in Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000.

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

He was arrested in Pakistan early this year in the town where Osama bin Laden was subsequently killed by US commandos.

Nazaruddin‘s request for barter impossible to meet: Mahfud Antara

YOGYAKARTA - Constitutional Court (MK) chairman Mahfud MD said it was quite obvious that graft suspect Nazaruddin‘s apparent wish to barter his sentence for his wife‘s freedom was impossible to meet.

“It is quite obvious Nazaruddin cannot barter his sentence for her freedom, “ Mahfud said after giving a lecture at Atma Jaya University here on Saturday.

He said Nazaruddin‘s wife, Neneng Sri Wahyuni, who is now a suspect, must be immediately caught and sentenced according to her crimes.

“Nazaruddin`s statement that he is ready to receive the severest possible penalty in exchange for his wife`s acquittal is not applicable,” he said.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has already named Neneng Sri Wahyuni a suspect in connection with her alleged involvement in a corruption linked

to procurement at a Solar Power project of the ministry of manpower and transmigration.

Neneng is now still at large after her husband was caught in Cartagena, Colombia, recently.

The police meanwhile have already issued a red notice in an effort to arrest her.

Mahfud said the letter that Nazaruddin had recently sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono asking that his wife and children be protected was a mere publicity stunt.

“His children sbould indeed be protected because they are still minors. But his wife, she must be arrested,” he said.

Mahfud also said that President Yudhoyono could not protect Nazaruddin‘s wife because her case was already being handled by the KPK. So, “let the case be processed according to the procedures at KPK. I am convinved a maximum result will be achieved,” he said.

Mahfud also said Nazaruddin‘s

arresy was done correctly according to the prescribed procedures and he had not noticed anything abnormal in it. Mahfud said some observers who had suggested that Nazaruddin had been framed were just speculating.

“I think there has been no engineering behind it. The arrest was done according to the prescribed procedures,” he said.

He said when Nazaruddin fled the country various cynical commentaries arose from observers who said that Nazaruddin would not be caught because he was protected.

He said their observation had now been proven wrong as the government had arrested him.

“Now they said that the arrest was engineered or that his human rights had been violated,” he said.

Mahfud said he hoped the Indonesian people would not always blame the steps the government has taken in its effort to arrest Nazaruddin because they had all been done correctly.

“It is also impossible for KPK to engineer things in this case,” he said.

Monday, August 22, 2011

7

Government to chase all wanted corruption suspects Antara

PADANG - Minister of Law and Human Rights Patrialis Akbar said the government would keep chasing all corruption suspects on the wanted list.

“We will chase all that have been able to flee abroad,” he said here on Saturday.

He said the government would hunt for not only Neneng Sri Wahyuni but also others that have fled and “we have instructed the Directorate General to set up a team to hunt for Neneng Sri Wahyuni and other wanted corrupters.”

He said to find graft suspect Neneng, who is also the wife of graft suspect Nazaruddin, he would cooperate with the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as well as the foreign ministry.

“The four institutions are currently still studying the possibility of working together in a joint team like they did when they caught Nazaruddin,” he said.

He said the hunt for Neneng Sri Wahyuni would be done like when arresting Nazaruddin abroad recently.

“We believe Neneng Sri

Wahyuni and her children are now still in Malaysia,” he said.

He said the immigration office had not detected Neneng moving to other countries after July 25, 2011. “It is very likely that Neneng Sri Wahyuni is now still in Malaysia,” he said.

He said he had held her passport after she was officially declared an Interpol wanted person.

Neneng has been banned from traveling abroad since May 31, 2011 and named suspect.

“She has been given a travel ban and this includes the revocation of her passport,” the minister said.

The immigration office, he said, has already coordinated with its representative offices abroad to anticipate the possibility of Neneng using the passport to move to other countries.

Unlike Nazaruddin who has used other person‘s passport to travel abroad Neneng is still using her own passport.

“Foreign representative offices will be informed about it,” he said.

Neneng has been named suspect in a corruption case linked to procurement at a solar power project in the ministry of manpower and transmigration in 2008.

Government to conduct taxpayer census Antara

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Taxes plans to conduct a national census as part of its proactive extension program to increase tax collection.

“We are ready to carry it out for three months from October to December,” director general of taxes, Ahmad Fuad Rahmany, said here on Friday.

He said the census was part of the office‘s efforts to collect data on taxpayers and see their compliance in order to widen the taxation base.

He said the self-assessment system carried out so far was not yet effective enough to make people pay their taxes out of their own accord.

He hoped with the census to be carried out by 299 prime tax offices the number of tax bases would increase. He said around 3,000 tax officers would be sent to potential tax payers‘ residences or offices to ascertain the fulfillment of their fiscal obligations.

“We will this time be more proactive and this activity will be followed by counseling to appeal potential tax payers to report and pay their taxes,” he said.

He said the census would last from the end of September 2011 to the end of 2012 with the target for the first three months of reaching around 1.5 million tax payers.

“Hopefully the number may be higher below two millions. This is based upon our initial calculation,” he said.

Fuad said based on the number of tax files in 2010 only 8.5 million tax payers out of an estimate of 110 million working people had paid their personal tax.

The number includes around 25 to 30 million people paying based upon Article 21 (PPh 21) of the tax law on personal tax.

“The ratio to the number of active working people has reached only 7.73 percent. In other words it means the rate of compliance is still low,” he said.

He said the number of corporate tax files meanwhile was only recorded at 466,000 out of 12.9 million active companies with permanent domiciles.

Fuad hoped the census would bring a benefit namely increasing the number of tax payers.

“This is our first program. So we will first see its success rate.

We will see its shortcomings or obstacles,” he said.

8

International

Monday, August 22, 2011

Bali Today Two sectors play dominant role in Bali’s PDRB Antara

DENPASAR - The trade, hotel and restaurant sector in Bali province contributed 30.63 percent of the gross regional domestic product (PDRB) which reached Rp17.99 trillion in the second quarter of 2011 based on current and constant prices.

“The agricultural sector came in second, contributing 17.51 percent of the PDRB,” the head of the Bali Provincial Statistics Office, I Gede Suarsa said here on Sunday.

He said the two sectors made up almost a half of the PDRB in the first half of 2011.

“The important thing that we can learn from the two sectors is that the agricultural sector’s contribution to the PDRB showed a downward trend from 18.67 percent in the second quarter of 2010 to 17.51 percent in the second quarter of 2011,” he said.

On the contrary, the trade, hotel and restaurant sector’s contribution to the PDRB tended to in-

crease to 30.63 percent in the second quarter of 2011 from 29.73 percent in the same period last year, he said.

The phenomenon was attributable to dynamics in the implementation of development programs, both national and regional development projects, he said.

He said the various efforts and breakthroughs were made in pursuit of economic growth accompanied by a change in economic structure from agriculture-based economy to service and industry-based economy.

In the long run, he added the economic development must follow national and regional income growth to bring a fundamental change to the economic structure.

Bali Cultural Center organizing Elizabeth Taylor film show Antara

DENPASAR - The Bali Cultural Center is organizing a cinema program on August 19-20 to remember the dedication of the late Elizabeth Taylor to the film world.

“The program is to be held in cooperation with Udayana Scientific Club (USC) and the Sahaja Community,” Sri Puspita, coordinator of the “Elizabeth Taylor Film Show” said here on Friday.

She said Elisabeth Taylor was one of Hollywood‘s most accomplished film stars although some said her talent was actually not so spectacular.

Apart from all the controversies surrounding her, Liz Tailor was a person who cared much for other people and had done a lot of charitable things, especially for HIV and AIDS sufferers.

“It is hoped the showing of a documentary films on Liz Taylor`s journey will give added value to

viewers,” she said.

She said according to plans, six films starred by Liz Taylor would be shown on the first day, including “National Velvet”, “Cat on a Hot Thin Roof” and “Butterfield 8.”

Butterfield 8 was the film that gave Elizabeth Taylor her first Oscar.

“On the second day, the film to be shown will be “Cleopatra” which was made in Britain and the US at a cost of UD$60 million,” she said.

Elizabeth Taylor played the role of Queen Cleopatra for which she has always been remembered until now.

Another film to shown was “The Elizabeth Taylor Story”, an 86 minute long film on her controversial private life.

The program will be closed with “Who`s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” a marriage drama in which she played with Richard Burton and from which she won another Oscar as best actress.

IBP/Net

Tourists doing mountain climbing.

Mountaineering In Bali, the mountains have a special significance in the Hindu Philosophy. To the Balinese the mountains are holy or sacred areas and for this reason many temples and shrines will be found among the lofty peaks.

Certain curtiousies should be followed by all mountain walkers which to the outsider may appear odd or strange. For example woman should not visit mountain regions during their menstrual cycle, beef, in the form of meat should not be eaten or carried there. Also whilst in the mountain, bad language or behavior must be avoided.

The mountains of Bali form part of a chain stretching from East to West and two of these

mountains are in fact active volcanos. One being Mount Agung (2152 m) the highest mountain in Bali which last erupted in 1963, the other Mount Batur (1717 m) currently active. There are three other lesser mountains mount Abang (2152 m), Mount Batuaru (2276 m) and Mount lempuyang (1058 m), and several other mountains, but many f these can be “climbed” by motor cycles or cars.

Mountain climbing in Bali is something much closer to mountain walking since most of Bali’s mountains have gentle slopes with few difficult or steep climbs, so the equipment required is minimal. Recommended climbing gear being a hat, for sun/rain protection, stout boots, gloves (ther are many thorn bushes and

plants), warm clothing, rain coat and rucksack. It is also advisable to take along a small first aid kit.

Many of the mountain foot hills have quite a number of leeches in particular Mount Batukaru so it is recommended to take along cigarettes (to burn the leeches off) and to tuck your trousers into your socks.

There is in Bali an active students mountaineering clubs in Bali. Every Universities in Bali has their own club, one of them “Mapala Wanaprastha Dharma” situated in the campus of the Udayana University on Jalan P.B Sudirman Denpasar. The following time-table gives a rough guide to some of the “climbs”, starting with the easy climbs and progreessing to more difficult ones.

International

Monday, August 22, 2011

Balinese Culture TUM BEBEK

(Minced Duck In Banana Leaf) OVERVIEW: Tum, leafwrapped bundles of highly seasoned food, are made with almost any basic ingredient in Bali, ranging from eels, to chicken, pork, beef or duck.

INGREDIENTS : 600 gr boneless duck, skin removed and minced 1 tbsp fried shallots 1 tbsp fried garlic 1/3 cup coconut milk, thick 3 tbsp basic spice paste 4 bird’s-eye chilies, sliced 1 tbsp salt 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed 12 pieces banana leaf, cut in 20 cm (8 in) squares 12 ea salam leaves PREPARATION: Combine the above ingredients except for banana leaf and mix well. Fold a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the center of a banana leaf and wrap.

Steam parcels for about 15 minutes, until well cooked.

If banana leaf, use greaseproof paper in preference to aluminum foil.

AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA

This picture taken on August 19, 2011 shows participants flying paper lanterns during a tsunami related charity event in Jimbaran on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. Prayers were held for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.

The above mixture can also be used for duck satays; simply add 200g of grated coconut and double the quantity of the basic spice paste salt and pepper.

Spear 2 heaped tablespoons of the paste around a large satay skewer or stalk of lemon grass. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

SAYUR PAKIS

(Fern Tips In Garlic Dressing) OVERVIEW: Fern tips also know as fiddleheads, have delightful, spinach like flavor.

INGREDIENTS: 400 gr (12 ½ oz) young fern tips 3 cloves garlic 4 cm (1 ½ in) kencur root, peeled and chopped 4 - 7 bird’s eye chilies 2 tbsp oil ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp black peppercorns, crushed PREPARATION: 1. Blanch fern tips in boiling water and cool under running water. Drain and dry thoroughly.

2. Place all remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend coarsely, or grind in a stone mortar.

3. Combine this mixture with the vegetables and mix well. Serve at room temperature. (www.baliguide.com/ balifood) C.045 ibp

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10

Monday, August 22, 2011

Destinations

International

Bali Museum IBP

Strategically located in Major Wisnu Street in Denpasar Bali and it is find it due to the location is in the heart town. In the north side there are glorious temple of Jagatnatha, meanwhile in front of it the Puputan Badung (Badung Courtyard) and four face statue (Catur Muka Statue) are located.

The development of Bali Museum is begun by the existence of initiative how to vitally the heritage of Balinese culture and taking care of, preserve and maintaining. The initiative is based on the existence of feeling to worry, that there is symptom a kind of culture erosion, so that the cultural heritage become totally disappeared, lose, what omit only photograph and documentations.

Bali Museum save the Balinese culture heritage, emerge the founding plan a museum which afterward becomes the Bali Museum: * The early planning of Bali

Museum founding was Governmental functionary of Dutch, Bali King, Society Prominent, all artists like: WFJ Kroon (assistant of Dutch Resident), Curt Grundler (a Germany Architect), I Gusti Alit Ngurah (Bestuurder Penegara Badung), I Gusti Bagus Jelantik (King of Karangasem), I Gusti Ketut Djelantik (King of Buleleng), King of Tabanan, and all artists like I Gusti Ketut Kandel, I Gusti Ketut Rai. The Planning is happened in year 1910 with the elementary concept Bali Museum building structure that was solidarity of the structure between temple building (Sanctum) and Palace (Keraton). * After agreed on the concept of the museum building structure, hence founded a mains building which deflect finished in year 1925. Because of the ancient object collection which had been collected is not yet adequate and then during 7 years (1925-1932), the mains building stood functioned for the exhibition purpose. All

meritorious experts in checking object taken as collection of Bali Museum for example: DR.W.F. Stutterheim, G.I. Graider, G.M. Hendrikss, DR.R. Goris, and artist of Walter Spies * Bali Museum in the beginning is handled by an institution that is called Bali Museum Institution and opened officially on 8 December 1932 with the name of Bali Museum * The management hereinafter by institution of Bali Museum has been reverted to Government of Indonesia since 5 January 1966.

The object collections which are kept in Bali Museum can be classified become the prehistoric object collection like: the Grave Petrify (sarkopag), the object collection coming from history era like: stupika clay containing superstitious formula Ye Te, the bronze statues (Hindu and Budha statues) and ethnography object collection like Keris, Endek Cloth, and religious ceremony equipments (Sangku, Cecepan and Sidakarya mask).

International Bali Post Classifieds Contact us

... gets maximum benefits with minimum charge Denpasar : +62 361 22-5764 Jakarta : +62 21 535-6271

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

C.0004945-bbn

C.0009620-pend

Monday, August 22, 2011

11

BUSINESS Biden says China, US share global responsibilities Associated Press

CHENGDU — Vice President Joe Biden reassured China on the safety of its U.S. debt holdings and said Sunday that the two countries need to recognize their mutual global responsibilities and ensure greater fairness in trade and investment conditions.

Biden brought a strong message of mutual interdependence on his visit to the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on the final day of a fiveday visit to the world’s second-largest economy and key U.S. trading partner.

And, as he did earlier in his visit, Biden endeavored to ease China’s concerns over its $1.2 trillion in U.S. Treasury holdings despite the massive U.S. deficit and downgrading of America’s credit rating.

“You’re safe,” Biden told students in a question-and-answer session following a speech at Sichuan University. Biden noted that the interest rate on Treasurys fell following the downgrade, making them more sought-after than ever.

“If the world thought, my God, they’ve been downgraded and they’re not going to make good on their debt, it would not have been viewed as the safest haven in all the world to invest,” he said.

An official Xinhua News Agency

commentary on Biden’s visit said Sunday that China would be looking for actions, rather than words, from the U.S. government to restore confidence in the American economy by gradually reducing the deficit, cutting debt and promoting economic growth.

“What is especially important is to let the world see that the U.S. government and relevant departments have the determination, ability and political aspiration to take actions to resolve these complicated issues,” the commentary said.

Biden emphasized the frequent exchanges between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao along with government officials in the political and economic field. He said there needed to be more exchanges between their civilian and military leaders over security issues, especially on cybersecurity and maritime issues where the sides view matters from different perspectives.

“Our generals should be talking to

each other as frequently as our diplomats,” Biden said.

Military-to-military exchanges have a troubled history, with China suspending them to register its anger at U.S. actions on the political front or toward Taiwan, the U.S. ally Beijing claims as its own territory. Though revived last year, they face a new threat when the U.S. announces on Oct. 1 whether it will provide new F-16 warplanes to the island.

Biden said the U.S. and China both need global stability, including preventing Iran and North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons. He also reasserted that the U.S. will remain a Pacific nation in the future, saying that the American presence had benefited regional stability and allowed China to focus on economic development.

Biden said he recognized frustrations among many Chinese businessmen and officials at the time needed to obtain visas to visit the U.S. and said Washington were working on improvements.

Bank of America to cut 3,500 jobs Associated Press

NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, said Friday that it plans to cut 3,500 jobs by the end of September.

The cuts amount to a little more than 1 percent of the bank’s workforce of roughly 288,000.

But they follow a string of other layoffs, including 2,500 already announced this year.

A bank spokesman declined to say if the cuts would be concentrated in a particular part of the country, but said they would be spread across most of the business units.

“The company regularly assesses the efficiency of its businesses and at times is going to make adjustments to meet the opportunities that are in the marketplace,” said spokesman Scott Silvestri. The bank has previously cut jobs in the mortgage lending and investment banking, for example, after demand for those services slowed.

Silvestri said the layoffs were not part of “New BAC,” a cost-cutting program announced in May. After this round of layoffs, the bank should have about 284,000 employees. Its roster peaked in early 2009, right after it absorbed investment bank Merrill Lynch and mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, at about 302,000.

The entire banking industry is shrinking, as new regulations and the fallout of the financial crisis force it to become smaller, simpler and less profitable. Many of the complicated investment

vehicles that fueled the industry before 2008 are gone, after being blamed for causing the financial crisis.

U.S. banks employ about 2.09 million people, down from 2.21 million people in early 2008, according to data compiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The finance and insurance industry made up about 8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s in line with where it was in 2007, before the financial crisis took hold.

Like other industries, banking has always ebbed and flowed with the markets. It started laying off investment bankers as the economy began to sputter in 2007. It laid off workers again in 2008 and 2009, as the financial crisis sent many banks into the red and forced them to take government bailouts. But 2010 provided some relief, with shares bouncing back and banks making profits, and banks even hired back some workers.

But now banks are cutting jobs again. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and State Street Corp., among others, have recently announced layoffs.

This latest round is different because it’s coming at a time when many banks are actually posting improved profits. Analysts say the latest cuts point to permanent structural changes, not temporary market problems.

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s head is framed by the teleprompter as he delivers a speech at Sichuan University in Chengdu in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. Biden says China and America need to recognize their mutual global concerns and responsibilities and ensure greater fairness in trade and investment conditions.

But he said U.S. companies continue to face major investment barriers in China, a frequent complaint among the business community here.

He said U.S. businesses were locked out of entire fields and face “restrictions that no other major economy

imposes on us or so broadly.”

The U.S. relishes competition from China and hopes for continued Chinese prosperity, with the $110 billion in U.S. exports to China last year generating hundreds of thousands of jobs, Biden said.

Jobless rates rise in many states in July Reuters

CHICAGO - Unemployment rates increased in more than half of the U.S. states in July as the shaky national economy took its toll on jobs, Labor Department data released on Friday showed.

Unemployment rates rose in 28 states and the District of Columbia, while they fell in nine states and were unchanged in 13, according to the data.

Nevada reported the highest jobless rate at 12.9 percent, up from 12.4 percent in June, while North Dakota reported the lowest rate at 3.3 percent, up from 3.2 percent in June.

Compared to July 2010, jobless rates were lower in 37 states and higher in seven states and the District of Columbia, the department reported.

Last month, 25 states had unemployment rates “significantly lower” than the national rate of 9.1 percent, while rates in eight states and the District of Columbia were measurably higher.

California’s rate inched up to 12 percent in July from 11.8 percent in June, ranking the state just behind Nevada.

Ten states had statistically significant increases in their jobless rates in July

compared to June. Rates were up a 0.4 percentage point in four states, including Illinois, where it climbed to 9.5 percent in July from 9.1 percent in June.

“The preliminary data reflects the recent volatility in the national economy and the uncertainty both in the labor force and business community,” said Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Jay Rowell in a statement.

Minnesota’s rate also rose, hitting 7.2 percent in July from 6.8 percent in June, but the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said the increase was largely due to a budget impasse between the governor and legislature that led to a three-week government shutdown that sent most state workers home.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 31 states and the District of Columbia last month. New York reported the biggest employment increase over the month, gaining 29,400 jobs, followed by Texas with 29,300 and Michigan with 23,000, according to Labor Department data.

Payrolls shrank in 19 states, with Illinois reporting the biggest decrease over the month of 24,900, followed by Florida, which lost 22,100 jobs.

12

Entertainment

Monday, August 22, 2011

Kardashian, Humphries to wed in evening ceremony Associated Press Writer

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are ready to walk down the aisle. The 30-year-old reality star and 26-year-old professional basketball player will be married Saturday evening in the exclusive Montecito area near Santa Barbara, Calif., in a ceremony that will be televised as a two-part special on E! in October.

It will be the first marriage for Humphries and the second for Kardashian, who was married to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2004.

Kardashian and Humphries began dating late last year and announced their engagement in May. He proposed on bended knee with a 20.5-carat ring by spelling out “will you marry me?” in rose petals.

Kardashian is a star of E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

Humphries last played for the National Basketball Association’s New Jersey Nets.

Since the couple’s engagement, the pending nuptials have provided constant fodder for entertainment media and the Kardashians themselves, who have posted updates about the wedding on their various blogs and websites.

The exact location of the ceremony has been kept secret, but everything else about the extravaganza — the dress designer, the cake maker, the stationer, the gift registry, the Kardashian-brand perfume — has been touted endlessly by the family and its fans.

But none of that is causing pre-wedding jitters for the bride. Earlier this week, Kardashian said she was feeling “totally calm” about the much-hyped ceremony. “I think that freak-out moment kind of already passed,” she said at a party Wednesday to launch her new clothing line at Sears.

So what attracted her to her husband-to-be? “He’s the most genuine person,” she said.

“He’s really supportive and he has his own stuff going on, too.”

Kim Kardashian, right, and her fiance, NBA basketball player Kris Humphries.

International

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, Jerry Lewis accepts the Nevada Broadcasters Association (NBA) Lifetime Achievement Award, in Las Vegas Saturday Aug. 20, 2011.

AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Glenn Pinkerton

Jerry Lewis: Saving lives through MDA was honor Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS — Jerry Lewis said Saturday that his years of service to the Muscular Dystrophy Association helped make him a star, but he didn’t provide details on his recent departure as the group’s national chairman.

In his first public appearance since the that announcement, Lewis accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Nevada Broadcasters Association, saying that he made his reputation in show business by saving lives.

“I made my reputation in this business caring for what I did, caring for the people that I did it for,” said Lewis, who donned a red foam clown nose at one point during his speech in front of politicians and other entertainers.

“Let me tell you that saving lives is a very, very special project in the life of any man who wants to do that, but I have had the joy of ... extending my life by what I feel in

my heart,” he said.

Lewis hinted during his brief speech that he could not explain why he is no longer the national chairman of the MDA after 45 years. He will also no longer host the group’s annual Labor Day weekend telethon.

Lewis said he was humbled to hear several congressmen and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval describe watching Lewis host the MDA’s annual Labor Day weekend telethon every year throughout their childhoods. “It was as meaningful tonight as ever,” the 85-year-old said of his charitable work. “And I don’t think I can go into the why of that.”

Lewis appeared briefly at the dinner, entering just before his tribute and leaving the room minutes after making his speech. He declined to speak to reporters as he left the event.

In May, Lewis said in a statement issued through the association that he would make his final appearance on the telethon this year and sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during a six-hour primetime broadcast scheduled for Sept. 4.

But MDA officials abruptly announced earlier this month that Lewis would no longer be the public face of the Tucson, Ariz.-based association without offering any explanation.

When pressed by a reporter at the time about his role with the telethon, Lewis said: “It’s none of your business.”

Lewis has said he would hold a press conference the day after the telethon to clarify his plans. “I will have plenty to say about what I think is important. And that’s the future, not the past,” he has said.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Ashton Kutcher safe from FTC investigation Reuters

NEW YORK - Well that was a quick resolution to Ashton Kutcher’s potential legal headache. A day after a New York Times article raised the question of whether Kutcher would face a Federal Trade Commission investigation for his failure to disclose investments he made in technol-

ogy companies, the FTC says it will not launch any investigation.

The “Two and a Half Men” star and social media entrepreneur served as guest editor for an online-only version of Details dubbed “The Social Issue,” but he failed to reveal that he had invested in many of the companies the magazine touted.

While initially an FTC official

said an investigation was “certainly a possibility,” and FTC spokesperson has since told the Times that the agency had no plans to investigate Kutcher.

Kutcher has not issued any kind of public response regarding the matter, though Details’ editor Dan Peres defended both his magazine and the actor Thursday.

Ashton Kutcher REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Science

International

This undated handout photo provided by the Butterfly Conservation shows a Comma butterfly. A new study in Science shows that species across the world are moving further away from the equator and higher in elevation and doing so faster than before because of global warming.

AP Photo/Butterfly Conservation, Jim Asher

Critters moving away from global warming faster Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Animals across the world are fleeing global warming by heading north much faster than they were less than a decade ago, a new study says.

About 2,000 species examined are moving away from the equator at an average rate of more than 15 feet per day, about a mile per year, according to new research published Thursday in the journal Science which analyzed previous studies. Species are also moving up mountains to escape the heat, but more slowly, averaging about 4 feet a year.

The species — mostly from the Northern Hemisphere and including plants — moved in fits and starts, but over several decades it averages to about 8 inches an hour away from

the equator. “The speed is an important issue,” said study main author Chris Thomas of the University of York. “It is faster than we thought.”

Included in the analysis was a 2003 study that found species moving north at a rate of just more than a third of a mile per year and up at a rate of 2 feet a year. Camille Parmesan of the University of Texas, who conducted that study, said the new research makes sense because her data ended around the late 1990s and the 2000s were far hotter.

Federal weather data show the

last decade was the hottest on record, and 2010 tied with 2005 for the hottest year on record. Gases from the burning of fossil fuel, especially carbon dioxide, are trapping heat in the atmosphere, warming the Earth and changing the climate in several ways, according to the overwhelming majority of scientists and the world’s top scientific organizations.

As the temperatures soared in the 2000s, the species studied moved faster to cooler places, Parmesan said. She pointed specifically to the city copper butterfly in Europe and the purple emperor butterfly in Sweden. The comma butterfly in Great Britain has moved more than 135 miles in 21 years, Thomas said. It’s “independent confirmation that the climate is changing,” Parmesan said.

Monday, August 22, 2011

13

Scientists find how “sticky” egg captures sperm Reuters

LONDON - Scientists have uncovered exactly how a human egg captures an incoming sperm to begin the process of fertilization and say their discovery could in future help couples who suffer from infertility. In a study in the journal Science, an international team of researchers found that a specific kind of sugar molecule makes the outer coat of the egg “sticky,” helping the egg and sperm bind together.

“The details we’ve discovered here fill in a huge gap in our knowledge of fertility and we hope they will ultimately help many of those people who currently cannot conceive,” said Anne Dell of Imperial College London, who worked on the study with scientists from the universities of Missouri and Hong Kong, and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

The World Health Organization estimates that infertility affects up to 15 percent of reproductive-aged couples around the world and almost one in every

seven couples in Britain has problems conceiving a child for various reasons, many of which remain unexplained by medical science.

Scientists already know that a sperm “recognizes” an egg when proteins on the head of the sperm meet and match a series of specific sugars in the egg’s outer coating. Once a successful match has been made, the outside surfaces of the sperm and egg bind together before they merge and the sperm delivers its DNA to the inside, fertilizing the egg.

In this new study, the researchers used ultra-sensitive mass-spectrometric imaging technology to assess which molecules were most likely to be key in the binding process.

They found that a sugar chain known as the sialyl-lewis-x sequence (SLeX) is abundant on the surface of the human egg, and after experimenting with a range of synthesized sugars in the laboratory they found that it is SLeX that specifically binds sperm to an egg. To make sure, they then tested their findings using the outer coats of unfertilized “non-living” human eggs.

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Doctor Katarzyna Koziol (unseen) injects sperm directly into an egg during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) at Novum clinic in Warsaw October 26, 2010.

Mauna Kea telescope back up after lightning strike Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/University of Hawaii, Karen Teramura, file

FILE - In this undated file photo provided by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, a 2.2 meter telescope is shown located near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

HONOLULU — A Mauna Kea telescope that was knocked out by lightning more than two months ago is fully operational again after undergoing repairs, the telescope’s director said Friday.

The final problem was a faulty electronics card that helped synchronize the movement of the 2.2meter telescope dome and the telescope itself. The telescope, which belongs to the University of Hawaii, became fully usable on Wednesday evening once that was fixed.

Operators “are confident that we have repaired the telescope and its sub-systems and we can continue with full night-time observing with

remote operation from Hilo, Manoa, the U.S. mainland, and Europe,” Colin Aspin, the director, said in an email.

The telescope went offline during the weekend of June 4-5, when tens of thousands of lightning flashes were recorded around the state. It wasn’t clear if a direct lightning strike knocked out the telescope or if the problem was caused by a lightning strike on Saddle Road that affected power going to the mountain.

The 41-year-old telescope is the first large telescope ever built on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano.

It’s smaller than its more famous neighbors — including the twin Keck telescopes that have mirrors measur-

ing 10 meters, or about 32 feet, in diameter. But the machine was the first to show Mauna Kea has some of the world’s best conditions for observing the skies.

In the early 1990s, astronomers used it to discover the existence of the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune home to large numbers of asteroid-sized bodies. Today, Pluto is commonly regarded as the largest known Kuiper Belt Object, not as the ninth planet. Other telescopes at the volcano summit have also had problems this year.

The Subaru telescope was shut down last month after coolant leaked around the telescope, including on the mirrors and camera.

14

Monday, August 22, 2011

Sport Chelsea’s Ashley Cole, falls under the challenge of West Bromwich Albion’s Peter Odemwingie during their English Premiership soccer match at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

AP Photo/Alastair Grant

Arsenal woes grow, Chelsea win

International

Spanish soccer strike goes on, latest talks fail Associated Press Writer

MADRID — The start of the Spanish league remained in limbo after talks to end the players’ strike failed on Saturday. The Association of Spanish Football Players (AFE) president Luis Rubiales said after the meeting with Spanish league officials that the two sides were still far from reaching a deal. The strike prevented the first round of league play from starting this weekend.

“The positions are far apart and it is impossible to solve things in one day,” Rubiales, a former Levante defender, told Spanish radio Marca. “The next two or three days are going to serve to study the options and from there look for solutions. “Right now we have a strike on and if this situation is not resolved we won’t play.”

Spanish club players representing all 42 teams in the top two divisions began the first work stoppage in 27 years on Friday in their demand for improved salary guarantees and the payment of $72 million clubs owe in unpaid salaries to more than 200 players.

The Spanish league said it will meet the AFE again as scheduled on Monday to “continue the open dialogue to try and unblock the situation of the strike called by the AFE.” The AFE has said it plans to extend the strike to the second round next weekend if a deal is not reached.

The league wouldn’t begin until Sept. 10 under such a scenario. The league has not announced if the games scheduled for the first week would be played then or if the calendar would be reshuffled.

While most squads are honoring the strike and won’t return to practice until late Monday or Tuesday, clubs involved in European competition trained, with Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Sevilla facing Europa League matches next week.

Atletico Madrid, also with an upcoming Europa League date, will have a double training session on Sunday after not practicing on Saturday. Real Madrid’s and Getafe’s players attended practices. Barcelona’s exhibition against Napoli on Monday also will go ahead.

Reuters

LONDON - Arsenal’s woes deepened with a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday, while substitute Florent Malouda spared Chelsea’s blushes with a late winner in a 21 comeback win over visitors West Bromwich Albion. A 78th-minute Aaron Ramsey own goal and a late Luis Suarez strike gave Liverpool a win that piled on misery in a bad week for Arsenal, who ended with 10 men for a second league game in a row after Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off 20 minutes from time.

They had already suffered misfortune a quarter of an hour into the match, when they lost defender Laurent Koscielny to a back problem, bad news for a side already ravaged with injuries, suspensions and reeling from the departure of Cesc Fabregas.

“It’s very difficult to take on the chin that defeat, because with the effort we put in I don’t think we deserved to lose the game,” Wenger told the BBC after his team left the pitch to boos after Liverpool’s first ever win at the Emirates. “We cannot say at the moment we are very lucky.”

Fortune was, however, with Chelsea in manager Andre VillasBoas’s first league match at Stamford Bridge. The hosts trailed from the fourth minute, when Alex lost the ball to West Brom striker Shane Long, who scampered through and wrongfooted stand-in keeper Hilario to claim his second goal in two games since joining the club this month.

Chelsea pulled level when Nicolas Anelka’s low shot took a deflection off defender Jonas

Olsson in the 53rd minute and Malouda completed the rescue mission when he arrived at the back post to sidefoot home a Jose Bosingwa cross on 83 minutes.

They had been lucky that an organised West Brom team had squandered a golden chance to go two goals up midway through the first half.

Long, whose early goal followed last week’s effort against Manchester United, overhit his cross after an inch-perfect pass from Chris Brunt to let Chelsea off the hook. illas-Boas had recognised early on that his sluggish side lacked spark, bringing on Malouda after just half an hour in place of the ineffective Salomon Kalou.

“We just felt it was necessary maybe to surprise our opponent in that way,” the Portuguese told ESPN of his decision to make the early change. “Most of all our first half was a mental block rather than anything else, and the players were able to free themselves from that to perform to the best qualities and the best talent.”

Chelsea were a different side

after the break, with West Brom keeper Ben Foster parrying an Anelka shot before defender Steven Reid blocked Malouda’s follow-up. “Our focus now is to get this performance in 90 minutes,” Villas Boas added after a second successive game where Chelsea only came to life in the second half following last week’s 0-0 at Stoke City.

Elsewhere, the first Premier League match in Wales ended 00, as lively Swansea City held firm in the face of a late Wigan Athletic onslaught, while Aston Villa marked manager Alex McLeish’s first home game with a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Newcastle United won the northeast derby with Ryan Taylor’s 62nd-minute free kick securing a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, where the hosts finished with 10 men after Phil Bardsley was sent off.

Newcomers Queens Park Rangers seemed to have learned their lessons from last week’s 40 drubbing by Bolton Wanderers as they beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park thanks to Tommy Smith’s first-half winner.

AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

People walk next to the Cornella-El Prat Stadium in Cornella Llobregat, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

Sport

International

Monday, August 22, 2011

15

Durant scores 44 as DC All-Stars topple LA Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Kevin Durant scored 44 points to lead Washington’s Goodman League to a thrilling 135-134 victory over the Drew League from Los Angeles on Saturday night. Lockedout NBA stars from both cities played in the game on the campus of Trinity University. The stands were packed beyond the listed 1,500 seat capacity and the crowd watched local hero Durant walk away with the game’s Most Valuable Player honors.

The overflow crowd ringed the court while scores of local and national media lined the track above the court, basking in the hardwood contest for coastal supremacy, one that was more intense than even the players anticipated.

“Yeah, it was,” said Durant, who sank a pair of throws with 21 seconds to put Goodman up one point, then blocked his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden’s baseline jumper at the buzzer. “It was fun though. We hadn’t played together or anything, but in the end we came together.” The most anticipated game of the summer, one trying to answer that age old question of which city balls best, might be the last time for a while this many NBA players take to the same court at the same time.

The Goodman side let a 16-point, third-quarter lead slip away and

Harden’s late 3-pointer tied the game at 133. The lefty guard then sank one of two free throws with 29 seconds left to put Drew up one, before Durant reclaimed the lead.

On the final possession, Brandon Jennings was matched up against former No. 1 pick John Wall of the Wizards, who scored six of the Goodman League’s final 10 points and dove head first into a group of photographers while going for a loose ball after sinking a jumper for that late three-point edge. Jennings, who led Drew with 34 points, settled for a long shot that missed. The rebound was corralled by Harden, who scored 29, along the left baseline with Durant in pursuit.

Harden’s game face was showing behind his full beard before the game, intensity that was not surprising considering the Los Angeles players paid their way to travel East.

He said the battle to show which city has the best talent was “why we set this whole thing up. Both teams are going to play hard.” Though his Thunder teammate was in the next stall of lockers over, Harden made it clear they were not teammates on this day.

“I don’t want to hear nothing about that Kevin Durant or Thunder up,” he said. “We’re enemies.”

That was obvious in the final seconds as Durant swarmed Harden, forcing a double clutch shot that never reached its target as the long limbed forward from the D.C. suburbs got a piece of it.

“It was a good battle, it was back and forth,” said Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, another D.C. area native. “The L.A. team came back, made a game of it. In the end KD made the free throws and made the right plays. So did John Wall.”

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, right, playing for Goodman League, drives on Thunder teammate James Harden, left, playing for Drew League, during an all-star basketball game at Trinity University in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

Sharapova and Jankovic win Knee injury knocks Cincinnati semi-finals Olympic champion Clay out of worlds Reuters

MASON, Ohio - Russia’s Maria Sharapova will face Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the Cincinnati Open final after the pair enjoyed solid victories in their semi-finals on Saturday. Sharapova recovered from a poor start to beat fellow Russian and world number two Vera Zvonareva 2-6 6-3 6-3 to reach her fourth final of the season while Jankovic beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 7-6 6-1.

Sharapova, ranked seventh in the world, will play for her 24th

AP Photo/Al Behrman

Maria Sharapova, from Russia, celebrates after defeating Vera Zvonareva, from Russia, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, in a semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011 in Mason, Ohio.

career title and second of the season following her victory in Rome but she had to come back from dropping the opening set against Zvonareva. “I had a slow start, to say the least,” said Sharapova. “I needed to get my energy back and when I did that I started to make some shots and was able to turn it around,” she said.

Zvonareva said she had allowed her concentration to slip after dominating the opening set. “In the second and third my concentration level dropped a bit in some moments and I had a few more double faults, that gave her some confidence and I also gave her some more chances. “It was tough because if you give Maria chances, she is going to take them.”

Jankovic, who won the title two years ago, had a struggle in the first set against Petkovic, who looked hampered by heavy strapping on her leg.

The Serb failed to take full advantage, with some odd shot selection and unforced errors, but after winning the tie-break she never looked back and Petkovic was never in the game in the second set.

Reuters

DAEGU, South Korea - Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay has withdrawn from the world athletics championships with a minor knee injury.

“I feel that I would be at less than my best,” the American said in a statement released by his manager Paul Doyle on Sunday. “I want to win medals every time I compete and based on the way my knee has been over the past six weeks, I feel that I would not be at top form,” the 31-year-old said.

The championships begin next Saturday in Daegu. Clay fell in the decathlon 110 metres at the U.S. world trials in June and withdrew from the competition. He later developed tendonitis in his right knee.

His goal now is to prepare for London where he hopes to become the first decathlete to win three Olympic medals. Clay took silver in Athens in 2004 and gold in Beijing in 2008.

The Americans will still field a powerful decathlon team in Daegu led by world champion Trey Hardee and 2011 world leader Ashton Eaton.

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

16

Sport

Monday, August 22, 2011

Sebastien Ogier on brink of Rallye Deutschland win SEBASTIEN Ogier is cruising towards victory in Rallye Deutschland, holding a 1m01.3s lead over his Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb with three stages to go.

After eight-time rally winner Loeb’s puncture on yesterday’s final stage, Ogier knew he only had to drive consistently through today’s concluding leg to claim his fourth win of the year.

Though Loeb was quickest on the second of the two stages that comprised today’s first loop, Ogier’s advantage remains extremely comfortable.

Dani Sordo still has a 25.9-second cushion over Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen as the Spaniard bids to give the new Mini its first podium in the World

Rally Championship, despite Hirvonen winning today’s opening stage.

But Sordo’s team-mate Kris Meeke is back behind Citroen privateer Petter Solberg in their rally-long battle for fifth place. Meeke lost several seconds with a mistake on the Moselwein stage, although he is still within 5.2s of Solberg.

French Sebastien Ogier and his co-pilot Julien Ingrassia steer their Citroen DS3 WRC car over the Gina jump at the Panzerplatte in Baumholder during a special stage of the Rallye Deutschland that starts and ends in Trier, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

AP Photo/Michael Probst

Reinvigorated McLaren eyes final title push McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh says his squad will be reinvigorated for the world title fight when the Formula 1 season resumes at Spa at the end of the month.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button’s triumphs in Germany and Hungary respectively have raised hopes that McLaren might be able to at least delay Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s title celebrations, although the Woking team remains 103 points adrift of RBR in the constructors’ standings at present.

“This final stretch of European races will break the back of the calendar, so it’s important that we hit them aggressively and confidently before pushing on into the final flyaways,” said Whitmarsh.

“The whole team has returned to work feeling refreshed, relaxed and recharged, and I’m confident that we’ll see the benefit of that at the racetrack: our engineers and strategists are hungry to get back to business, and our mechanics are fit and ready to continue the excellent progress they have been making all season with fast and reliable work in the garage and the pitlane.”

He said McLaren’s recent success had given it even stronger motivation and that it had a lot more room and hunger for

improvement despite winning the last two races.

“Despite winning three of the last five grands prix, we are still hugely determined to be stronger than before,” Whitmarsh vowed. “Time and time again, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has proved its resilience and determination, particularly at this crucial stage of the world championship. “We are more than ready for this fight and relishing every race.”

Hamilton said McLaren’s upgrades in the past few grands prix had given both drivers huge faith in the car. “I think we go into the race weekend in a pretty good place - we’ve won the last two grands prix and the car feels strong; we’ve worked hard to improve the set-up, so it’s really inspiring confidence at the moment, which means you can push it that little bit further, particularly in qualifying,” he said.

Button echoed Hamilton’s comments, and added that while his win in Hungary had been achieved in mixed weather conditions, he was sure the car had the pace to win in any situation now.

“It felt great to go into the summer break off the back of the win in Hungary,” said Button. “That was a race I think we could just as well have won in the dry as in the damp – which will be worth bearing in mind in Spa, as it’ll probably be wet and dry – and everything in between – at some point during the weekend.

McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain makes a pit stop during the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit near Budapest July 31, 2011.

REUTERS/Georgi Licovski /Pool