Edition Friday, January 25, 2019 | International Bali Post

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

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

16 Pages Number 25 11th year Price: Rp 3.000,-

Friday, January 25, 2019

Kit Harington reveals his Game Of Thrones plans for last ever episode CALIFORNIA - Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington has told Sky News he is considering throwing a party to watch as the epic series comes to an end.

The actor, who has played brooding hero Jon Snow since the first episode of the fantasy drama aired back in 2011, is not giving away any spoilers, but did say the much-anticipated conclusion would leave fans “emotionally torn”.

Speaking about his plans for the finale, he said he liked the idea of a Game Of Thrones party, but that watching in solitude also appeals so he can take it all in.

“I think I’m going to have a party,” he tells Sky News. “Oh, I don’t know yet... I don’t know if I want to watch it on my own quietly just myself, or whether I’ll have a party and watch it with lots of other people.

“I just can’t really decide that

yet.”

Harington, 32, also spoke about being the apparent go-to star for work with mythical creatures, with his new film How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World out soon, and more details about Jon Snow’s true relationship with the Game Of Thrones dragons expected to be revealed in the final series. “I work with dragons a lot, it seems, all different types and sizes and shapes,” he says. “Which is wonderful… I mean, bizarre. I don’t know how that happened in my life.

“I hope it’s not the end of working with dragons.”

Harington was cast in the second How To Train Your Dragon film, voicing the character of Eret, a nemesis to hero Hiccup who later changes his ways.

The latest film is the third to be made, completing the trilogy.

(IBP/net)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Jakarta ex-governor freed from prison after blasphemy sentence

Jakarta’s former governor was released from prison Thursday, nearly two years after his blasphemy conviction fanned fears of religious intolerance in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

IBP/net

Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Michelle Keegan have committed to social media transparency.

Celebs vow to say when they are being paid to promote brands online

LOS ANGELES - Celebrities including Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Michelle Keegan have agreed to change the way they label their social media posts.

IBP/net

What will Jon Snow’s fate be as Game Of Thrones comes to an end?

A total of 16 stars will now clearly say whether they have been paid in exchange for a post, or if an item they are featuring has been gifted or loaned to them.

Others agreeing to the pact include models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley - as well as reality TV stars Mario Falcone and Millie Mackintosh.

Falcone’s Twitter account heavily features a luxury watch brand, with tweets showing him embracing his newborn son while endorsing a 10% discount code. Meanwhile, Mackintosh’s Instagram is packed with mentions of beauty and clothing brands.

Together, the celebrities have tens of millions of followers across platforms including Instagram and Twitter.

The formal commitment follows action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which wants to improve transparency and prevent consumers from being misled by celebrity endorsements.

Such posts can have a powerful impact and boost sales for the companies promoted - with millions of fans exposed to updates about where the celebrities go on holiday, what they wear, and the products they use.

By law, stars are required to dis-

close whether they have been paid to incentivise or endorse a brand.

Several celebrities have been sent warning letters urging them to review their practices.

Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the CMA, said the move sends a “clear message” to influencers, brands and businesses about what is expected from them.

He added: “Influencers can have a huge impact on what their fans decide to buy. People could, quite rightly, feel misled if what they thought was a recommendation from someone they admired turns out to be a marketing ploy. (net)

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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the Indonesian capital’s first non-Muslim governor in half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader -left a prison outside the capital after dawn, his assistant Ima Mahdiah told AFP. Supporters of the Christian ex-governor, who is popularly known as Ahok, gathered outside the prison, chanting and cheering his new found freedom.

“My dad’s a free man! Thank you everyone for the support,” Nicholas Sean, one of his three children, said on Twitter.

The release ends one of the most tumultuous chapters in Indonesian politics in recent memory.

Purnama had been a popular politician who won praise for trying to clean up the traffic-clogged megacity and clamp down on corruption before his imprisonment. But his downfall came quickly after comments he made on the campaign trail during a re-election bid saw him accused of insulting Islam.

The filmed remarks, which went viral online, sparked mass protests in Jakarta, spearheaded by radical groups opposed to a non-Muslim leader and encouraged by his political rivals.

Purnama had urged voters to ignore rivals who cited a Koranic verse stating they should reject nonMuslim leaders, with the then governor saying people

were being manipulated into voting against him.

However, judges ruled the remarks amounted to blasphemy against Islam and he was then sentenced to two years’ jail in May 2017, having lost the election to a Muslim challenger. It was an unusually harsh sentence -- prosecutors had only recommended probation for the now 52-year-old.

- ‘Unjust conviction’ Purnama’s case drew international headlines and a wave of criticism, including from the United Nations, which urged the country of 260 million to revise its decades-old blasphemy law.

“Ahok’s unjust conviction is a reminder that minorities in Indonesia are at risk so long as the abusive blasphemy law remains in place,” said Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch.

“Islamists will use it to bring wrongful prosecutions and even more discriminatory regulations against religious minorities.”

The huge demonstrations calling for Purnama’s jailing fuelled concerns about the growing influence of religious hardliners and that the Southeast Asian country’s much-vaunted tolerant brand of Islam was under threat.

Indonesia’s blasphemy law states that anyone found guilty of “expressing feelings of hostility” towards religion can be jailed for up to five years.

It applies to any of the six officially recognised religions, including Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, but most prosecutions are brought against people accused of blaspheming Islam, which is followed by nearly 90 percent of the population.

Among them was an ethnic Chinese Buddhist woman found guilty in August of insulting Islam for asking her neighbourhood mosque to lower the volume on its sound system. She was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The woman’s comments about the mosque noise triggered riots in 2016 that saw angry Muslim mobs ransack Buddhist temples. (afp)

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

This file photo dated May 9, 2017 shows Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, arriving at a courtroom for his verdict and sentence in his blasphemy trial in Jakarta. Jakarta’s former governor is set to be released from prison on January 24, 2019, nearly two years after he was convicted on blasphemy charges that fanned fears over religious intolerance in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

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Friday, January 25, 2019

Bali News

International

At the beginning of 2019, 50 disaster points identified

GIANYAR - When entering the beginning of 2019, there have been dozens of natural disasters in Gianyar district. Disasters including landslides, fallen trees and floods have occurred in almost across the region. Meanwhile, the Gianyar Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) alerts 24 hours to mitigate disaster.

Based on recapitulation data of the BPBD Gianyar, until January 22 there have been 50 natural disaster points. They are landslides at 5 points, consisting of 3 points in Payangan sub-district, 1 point in Tampaksiring sub-district and 1 point in Gianyar sub-district.

Flood disaster is recorded to happen at 10 points, namely 1 in Ubud sub-district, 4 in Sukawati subdistrict and 5 in Blahbatuh sub-district.

The most common disaster is fallen trees, with a total of 34 points. They are 1 point in Tegallalang sub-district, 2 points in Ubud sub-district, 2 points in Sukawati sub-district, 13 points in Gianyar sub-district and 16 points in Blahbatuh sub-district. Of all the disasters is added with another disaster, namely the victim getting electrocuted. “This is the most when Gianyar was hit by rain accompanied with strong winds some time ago,” said the Head of BPBD Gianyar, A.A. Gde Oka Digjaya, on Wednesday (Jan. 23).

Chief Executive of the BPBD Gianyar revealed that in truth the vulnerability of the disaster in Gianyar belongs to moderate category. But with hundreds of disasters within this year, people are asked to be more vigilant. “I think, if we are all responsive, facing a disaster is not too difficult. However, for a large

scale it certainly cannot be predicted, at least there is anticipation,” he said, The anticipation is meant to maintain cleanliness of the environment and pruning trees. Moreover, in 2019, his agency has returned to obtain a budget for pruning prone trees valued at IDR 80 million. “The handling of fallen-prone trees is more effective in preventing disasters,” he said.

Meanwhile, based on recapitulation of natural disaster data received by the BPBD Gianyar throughout 2018, there were 246 disasters. Of that number, the most reports were about fallen trees namely for 113 incidents, while landslides amounted to 70 incidents, followed by floods at 48 points, including the other disasters recorded to reach 13 incidents such as evacuation of poisoning and accident victim.

Such hundreds of disaster occurred in almost all the sub-districts. As for landslides, it mostly occurred in the northern region, namely Payangan sub-district with 12 incidents, in Tegallalang for 17 incidents and Tampaksiring for 15 incidents. In the meantime, the highest incidence of fallen trees occurred in the Gianyar town, reaching 23 incidents, while flood overflow dominantly occurred in Sukawati sub-district at 17 points and Blahbatuh at 15 points.

Other than landslides, floods and fallen trees throughout 2018, the BPBD Gianyar also handled other disasters. For example, the occurrence of a blocked bridge tunnel, evacuation of falling, drowning and suicide victim totally reaching ten incidents, student poisoning, and accidents. Meanwhile, the impact of the earthquake caused serious injuries to three people as well as damaged 124 residential buildings and 81 units of public facilities. (kmb35)

IBP/Manik Astajaya

Activities

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

15

Australia Day Celebration at Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta Home away from home with the classic Australian favourites

IBP/Dodok

The medical waste are scattered around in Kekeran area.

Medical waste strewn at Kekeran temporary disposal

MANGUPURA - Medical device waste categorized to be hazardous and toxic materials (B3) were found to scatter at the temporary disposal site (TPS) of Kekeran village, Mengwi, on Wednesday (Jan, 23).

The garbage whose owner is not yet known has made the surrounding community anxious.

Surely, there is possibility if the vacuum tubes contain particular virus and endangers the community, especially if they are stepped on.

Headman of Kekeran, Nyoman Suarda, admitted that he is surprised if the temporary disposal site is used to dispose of and collect garbage of the Kekeran village community is suddenly filled with such medical waste.

“Usually, the waste disposed of here is the remaining waste that cannot be processed into organic fertilizer. There is no medical waste, and all the garbage is from the local community’s house. I am surprised how come there is medical waste there,” he said According to him, his authority is still investigating who had thrown medical waste at the temporary disposal site owned by the local village. All this time, village sanitation officers have never picked up and disposed of medical waste.

“I am horrified, if that (medical waste—Ed) is stepped on, what happens? We are worried if they contain HIV virus. Surely, it is very dangerous,” he explained.

In order to anticipate undesirable things, he is going to bury the medical device waste. “To avoid harm, I will follow up later and will have the waste buried,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Badung Health Service, I Gede Putra Suteja, when asked for his confirmation denied if the medical waste disposed of at Kekeran disposal site is from the public health center, auxiliary health center and hospitals belonging to the Badung district government.

So far, he said the handling of medical waste in all health facilities belonging to the Badung district government has been handled by third parties.

“To handle medical waste in health facilities, we have cooperated with third parties. So, the third parties then take care of the waste,” he said.

Suteja admitted not to know where the medical waste is thrown away. Obviously, the health facilities in Badung do not take care of such waste. “Our medical waste has been handled by a third party as we indeed have collaborated with it,” he concluded. (kmb27)

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Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta, part of Marriott International, Inc., launches new food and beverage promotions celebrating Australia Day. Guests can savour classic Australian dishes plus one fan favourite until 31 January 2019 at all of the hotel’s F&B outlets.

The Australian classics are Aussie Meat Pie, Chocolate Lamington, Strawberry Pavlova and two kinds of salad, i.e. Spinach & Avocado Salad and Melon, Lemon & Almond Salad, which start from IDR 50K++ per portion. Fan favourite Best Brew Burger with soft buns and homemade juicy patty is available at IDR 130K++.

Grill & Chill Special Australia Day at The Best Brew will be available on 26 January 2019 at 6.30 PM. Experience the hotel’s signature BBQ dinner with extra varieties of Aussie favourites and quenching beer promotions. It is only IDR 180K++ per person.

“Being a popular hotel of choice for Australians, this promotion reiterates our commitment to make our guests feel at home, even when they are away from home, on this special occasion,” said Sitha Asmarajaya, Director of Operations.

Located on Jalan Benesari in the heart of Legian, Kuta, Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta

features four restaurants, each with its own theme and open to the public. The roadside The Best Brew is an urban beer garden, specialising in the signature Best Brews™ programme, wood-fired pizza and BBQ. The all-day dining The Eatery serves breakfast and international comfort cuisine and local taste for lunch and dinner. Wrapped treats guests with freshly brewed coffee, juices and pastries at the main lobby. Sitting at the top of the hotel is Vertigo, a stylish laid back rooftop with a swimming pool, swim up bar and lounge, perfect for romantic dinner or simply unwind over cocktails.

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Friday, January 25, 2019

Fashion

International

Chinese Dolce & Gabbana model apologises for Grammy nominee part in race row blasts designers for

IBP/net

Bebe Rexha

BEIJING - A Chinese model who featured in a Dolce & Gabbana promotional video attacked for being culturally insensitive has apologised for her role in the production, more than two months after the firestorm erupted.

The controversy arose in November after the Italian fashion firm posted short clips on Instagram showing a woman eating pizza and

spaghetti with chopsticks, which critics said was offensive to Chinese culture.

It escalated after screenshots

emerged of an Instagram user’s chat with the famously mercurial co-founder Stefano Gabbana, who used smiling poop emojis to describe China and launched insults at the country and its people.

“For not properly interpreting the proper way of holding chopsticks, I express my deepest regret,” model Zuo Ye wrote in a lengthy post put up on Monday on the Weibo social media platform.

“I appreciate the fact that this isn’t just my personal action, but that I am representing the image of our country, and of Chinese culture so I am racked with guilt, deeply apologetic, and will definitely improve my decorum in future.”

Identifying herself as a full-time model, Zuo said she was attacked after the video surfaced, and received online threats, which also extended to her agent, family and friends.

Providing a chronological account of the Milan shoot in November, Zuo said she had no idea the video would be edited the way it was, and was just trying her best to be cooperative.

“I will learn well from this incident, and in future present Chinese culture in a better manner,” she wrote.

Dolce & Gabbana was forced to cancel a Shanghai fashion show as a result of the incident, with brand issuing an apology statement and claiming Gabbana’s account had been hacked.

It did little to calm the situation and the Italian fashion house’s products disappeared from multiple Chinese e-commerce platforms.

The brand’s founders eventually apologised to customers in a specially shot video.

But Dolce & Gabbana products are still unsearchable on e-commerce site Taobao while searches on JD.com turn up no results. (afp) Giant fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has been accused of racism after sharing 3 ads showing a Chinese woman being told on how to use chopsticks.

dubbing her ‘too big’ to dress NEW YORK - An American pop star up for Best New Artist at next month’s Grammys says she’s struggling to find a dress for the ceremony, with designers calling her “too big.”

Bebe Rexha -- a singer who also nabbed a nomination for the tender country pop duet “Meant to Be” -called out designers on social media for refusing to craft her a custom gown, highlighting what has become a perennial issue on the red carpet.

“I had my team hit [up] a lot of designers,” the 29-year-old said. “And a lot of them do not want to dress me because I’m too big.”

“If a size 6/8 is too big, then I don’t know what to tell you. Then I don’t want to wear your fucking dresses,” Rexha said.

“You’re saying that all the women in the world that are size 8 and up are not beautiful and they cannot wear your dresses.”

An American size 8 converts to approximately 40 in Europe and 12 in Britain.

Celebrities including singer Adam Lambert and model Tyra Banks tweeted their support for Rexha, who said her “size 8 ass” will still be attending the Grammys gala on February 10.

Rexha did not specify which designers had turned her down, but her rant underscored the enduring challenge faced by women artists who can’t shimmy into samples, generally limited to runway model sizes 0-4.

A handful of designers responded to the singer’s post offering to lend a hand.

High-profile designer Christian Siriano, who has made a point of dressing curvier stars in the past, tweeted that “we have dressed @ BebeRexha a few times and would love to do it again!”

And eveningwear specialist Elizabeth Kennedy said, “I’d love to make you a dress for the Grammys!”

“I’m a size 8 too, and yes it is a beautiful size.”

- Not a sample size -

Dressing celebrities on the red

Bali News

International

carpet offers designers a platform to promote their work and houses often loan stars outfits for A-list events -- but a number of stars have admitted to buying their own dresses off the rack.

Television star Megan Mullally, who is set to host the Screen Actors Guild Awards this weekend, posted on Instagram last month: “looks like i will be buying my dress online.” “even though there is literally a 100 percent chance that i will be on camera, because I’M HOSTING IT,” she said, adding that “designers do not send me dresses.” “oh, the glamor of it all.”

In 2016, actress Leslie Jones drew attention to the issue after tweeting that she had nothing to wear to the premiere of Ghostbusters, a film she starred in, due to her size.

“It’s so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for a movie,” tweeted Jones.

“Hmmm that will change and I remember everything.”

Siriano came to the rescue, dressing the statuesque actress in an off-the-shoulder, power-red column gown with a thigh-high slit.

“It shouldn’t be exceptional to work with brilliant people just because they’re not sample size. Congrats aren’t in order, a change is,” Siriano tweeted of the episode.

The New York-based designer later said dressing Jones became a silver bullet for sales.

“We’ve sold hundreds of that red gown,” Siriano told People magazine. “Certain celebrities, when they wear clothes, people immediately want it.”

“Our wildcard is when we dress Leslie.”

California-based Japanese designer Tadashi Shoji, whose fans include actress Octavia Spencer, has also made it his business to cater to a spectrum of bodies.

His techniques include ruching and draping to flatter everyone from size 0 petite to 24 -- what he refers to as “queen size.” (afp)

Friday, January 25, 2019

3

After being flushed by rain

Drifting trash piles up on the beach MANGUPURA — The rain flushing Bali and its surroundings in the past two days made the coast in Badung district filled with drifting trash. The plastic-dominated trash piles are seen along the coast, such as Kuta, Kedonganan, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu and others.

Head of the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK), Putu Eka Marthawan, confirmed the garbage piles along the coast in Badung. Such condition happened due to bad weather condition causing drifting trash to invade the coastal areas.

“Well ... the drifting trash spreads almost as long as 12 kilometers from South to North. We have already sent down a thousand janitors to deal with the marine debris. Frankly speaking, we have been overwhelmed to handle such garbage attack,” complained Eka Marthawan, on Tuesday (Jan. 22).

According to him, the rush of drifting trash in early 2019 has become the worst during the history when compared to previous years. The garbage mound averagely reaching 50 tons per day, now reaches 250 tons per day or equivalent to 12 trucks. More seriously, the mounting garbage cannot be immediately taken to the Suwung landfill.

“Just imagine, our trucks should queue up to 7 hours at the Suwung Landfill to dispose of waste, so we have to accommodate it first in the temporary shelter that we have prepared along the coast,” he said.

This bureaucrat from Sempidi, Mengwi, apologized to the public and tourists if the garbage besiege disrupted their activities on the beach. “We apologize for the inconvenience and we will continuously try to clean up the garbage carried by the flow as best we can,” he said.

He acknowledged that drifting trash will occur until next March.

On that account, his agency will alert the team along the coast in Badung. “The Lunar New Year has been around the corner. Certainly the amount of waste will increase.

Last month, the organic waste reached 90 percent while 10 percent consisted of plastic, but now it changes into 80 percent of plastic waste and 20 percent of organic,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Badung Tourism Office, I Made Badra, asked the public and tourists to comply with the instructions from the lifeguard or Balawista.

“There might be a ban on swimming because of bad weather. This is meant to avoid unwanted things,” he said.

He stressed that his office temporarily does not close tourist destinations, especially beaches. The beaches are still opened, however visitors are advised not to carry out any activities in the water. In addition, according to him, the invasion of garbage is worth watching out for. “Well ... visitors must be careful because there is possibility for the presence of the objects that can pierce legs and so on,” he added. (kmb27)

IBP/kmb

The high tide seawater looked to further erode the road which is only an inch in front of the residents’ houses.

Eroded coast of Pebuahan made into plastic waste disposal

NEGARA - Abrasion on the Pebuahan Beach at Banyubiru village, Negara, is now getting worse. Dozens of houses and tatamistyle or lesehan food stalls have been destroyed in recent years. As seen on Tuesday (Jan. 22), the high tide seawater looked to further erode the road which is only an inch in front of the residents’ houses.

IBP/eka

The rain flushing Bali and its surroundings in the past two days made the coast in Badung district filled with drifting trash.

Unfortunately, the Pebuahan Beach having been erode by abrasion now looks shabby because it has been taken advantage to dump plastic waste. Plastic waste appears to be disposed of and piled up on the location of the road with potholes and getting eroded by abrasion.

This condition is very much regretted by a number of visitors to tatami-style food stalls remaining to survive on the coast of Pebuahan. At this time, the area looks increasingly shabby because it is disposed of plastic waste.

Regarding the handling of the Pebuahan abrasion, the Jembrana district government has actually proposed to central government for several times but until now there has been no response. Besides, the Jembrana district government has also installed four geotextile tubes for four months at four abrasion-prone points on Pebuahan Beach, Banyubiru village.

Unfortunately, the installation of the tools is only limited to testing and the district government itself,

from the information, does not make additions and there is no plan to procure the tools.

Division Head of Water Resources at the Jembrana Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUPRPKP), Wayan Widnyana, when asked for his confirmation stated that his agency indeed installed a geotextile tube. “We got it from a sponsor facilitated by the Coastal Agency based in Musi Buleleng. So, there is no plan to add tools. Similarly, there is no plan to procure the tools,” he said.

Installation of the tools is assessed to start showing off positive results. It functions to collect sand to the coast and aims to prevent coastal erosion.

Widnyana said the testing the installation of four geotextile tubes with a length of 20 meters and a width of 2.2 meters from the coastline since a few months ago has caused a lot of sand to get stranded on the coast.

He hoped the installation of geotextile tube tool can be more maximal and can become an alternative solution to dealing with abrasion.

All this time, the beach revetments often take advantage of armor costing expensive and damaging the environment because it requires large stones and is difficult to obtain. But with this tool, he is optimistic to become a solution, especially after seeing the sand stranded, and there is a stretch of sand.

Widnyana also hoped the community will take care of the installed geotextile tube so that it is well maintained and effective. (kmb)

4

Bali News

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

Seaweed only survives at Suana and Batununggul

SEMARAPURA - In the past, seaweed was the icon of the Nusa Penida archipelago.

However, today its cultivation is gradually abandoned.

At this time, the seaweed cultivation only survives in the villages of Suana and Batununggul.

The regional government is now trying to re-develop seaweed cultivation, so that it does not become extinct. Actually, aside from the two villages mentioned above, seaweed cultivation also rapidly developed at several villages, such as Lembongan, Jungut Batu, Ped to Kutampi Kaler. Drastic decline in production most noticeably happened at the end of 2016. Now, the local government through the Klungkung Food and Fisheries Agency proactively seeks the markets, so that the seaweed production can be absorbed maximally to stimulate the cultivation again.

As follow up of the dissemination on the results of the study of seaweed cultivation at Lembongan recently, the Head of the Food and Fisheries Agency, I Wayan Durma, on Tuesday (Jan. 22) invited potential buyers that already have owned a factory. One of them is from Patas, Singaraja. This entrepreneur is said to be ready to purchase dry or wet seaweed to be further processed into cosmetic products.

“They are ready to purchase as much production as possible. This is one of our basic problems. If we produce, of course there must be

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

13

South Australia heatwave smashes record temperatures

ADELAIDE - Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees on Thursday, shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heat-stressed bats fell from trees.

IBP/kmb

At this time, the seaweed cultivation only survives in the villages of Suana and Batununggul. buyers with prices according to market developments,” said Durma, when met in his room.

According to him, the results of survey using questionnaires in Nusa Penida subdistrict, the majority of the people, he said, wanted to plunge back into seaweed cultivation. Seeing the results, as well as the potential of nature and the commitment of Regent Nyoman Suwirta to revitalize it, the seaweed cultivation must continue. After in Lembongan, there are two more places targeted for the dissemina-

tion of the study results, namely the Suana and Batununggul village. Results of the demonstration plot’s study of the seaweed must be known to the public.

According to him, there must be a synergy between seaweed cultivation and tourism. Such synergy can be realized in many kinds. For example, the seaweed is processed into certain products that can attract tourists, the cultivation is divided into zones as tourist attractions as well as the offer to seaweed farmers to simultaneously develop

other commodities supporting local tourism such as the cultivation of crabs, groupers and others. In short, it is the effort to realize seaweed farmers as a tourist attraction, not the farmers are busy switching professions and leaving seaweed cultivation.

Durma added that to work together on seaweed cultivation, his agency also coordinated with the Bali Fisheries and Maritime Agency because rebuilding seaweed cultivation is a shared responsibility.

Seaweed production had reached its heyday a few years ago. In 2013, the total production reached 100,859.5 tons, in 2014 decreased to 83,780.8 tons, in 2015 rose again to 106,295.5 tons, in 2016 remained the same at 106,295.5 tons but in 2017 began experiencing production decline of 597.7 tons. In the meantime, the data for 2018 have not been entered. The results of the study showed a decrease in seaweed production due to weather condition, tourism development, and difficulty in regenerating farmers. (kmb36)

Drifting garbage worried to trigger floods at Sesetan

IBP/kmb12

Some downstream areas are prone to floods and inundation, namely Sesetan village.

DENPASAR - The threat of floods in Denpasar area during the rainy season remains quite a lot. Some downstream areas are prone to floods and inundation, namely Sesetan village. The village consisting of 14 neighborhoods is often hit by inundation during rainy season. However, in the past year, it has been overcome by flushing rivers and prohibiting residents from dumping garbage into the river.

Headman of Sesetan, Ketut Sri Karyawati, when met in Denpasar on Monday (Jan. 21) acknowledged the threat of floods could have been overcome. It was carried out by flushing the river flow at Sesetan.

However, the most important thing is to make people aware of not

throwing garbage into the river.

“At present, the inundation threat that occurs in Sesetan area has been overcome,” she said.

She said that before the rainy season in 2018, her authority already approached to the hamlet chief to overcome floods. After that, it was agreed to do flushing in the river, drainage, and other channels. “We have also coordinated with Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) for the flushing,” she said.

In addition, the most important thing is that no more people throw garbage into the river. If all people are aware of the environment, the threat of floods can be overcome.

“Thankfully in 2018 we were no longer subject to the threat of

floods,” he said.

Nevertheless, her authority is still worried because of the location of Sesetan in the downstream.

During the rain some time ago, the headman had observed the Tukad Rangda where the drifting garbage was still in the river. “If this is not handled properly, Sesetan will still face a threat of floods,” she explained.

She hoped the case of having a lot of puddles in 2016 will no longer occur. Moreover, in SMPN 6 there were puddles reaching the height of knee-deep of adults. Similarly, the SDN 13 was also affected by floods. “Hopefully, this year (2019) Sesetan can be free from the threat of floods,” she added. (kmb12)

The Bureau of Meteorology reported temperatures of 49.5 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) north of Adelaide, while inside the city temperatures reached 47.7 Celsius, breaking a record that had stood since 1939.

Adelaide residents are used to sweltering days during the southern hemisphere summer, but even they struggled with the oppressive temperatures.

More than 13 towns across South Australia have smashed their own heat records.

The state’s health authorities early Thursday reported that 44 people had received emergency treatment for heat-related illnesses in the past 24 hours.

“Remember to check on elderly friends, relatives and neighbours, and those who are unwell,” the state emergency services tweeted.

Health authorities were also forced to issue a public warning to avoid contact with hundreds of heat-stressed bats falling from trees in parkland areas.

Authorities in central Australia said they had to cull more than 50 feral horses, after they found 90 dead or dying wild brumbies near a dried-up water hole.

Shocking images of dozens of dead horses strewn across the dry ground began to circulate on social media this week.

“With climate change well and truly upon us, we expect these emergencies to occur with increasing frequency and nobody is truly

prepared and resourced to respond to them,” David Ross, director of indigenous representative body the Central Land Council, said in a statement.

- Bushfire threat While thousands of people have flocked to beaches to cool off in the surf, hundreds have taken to shopping centres to stay out of the heat.

At the Red Lion Hotel in South Australia, publicans gave a free beer to each of their patrons while the temperature remained above 45 degrees.

Around one hundred people lined up for their free drink for over one hour.

At Adelaide Zoo tortoises have been getting cool water wipedowns, rock wallabies have been given ice to lick and hyenas have taken refreshing dips.

But the temperatures are also testing municipal services, with SunCity buses forced to cut their services, leaving commuters searching for trams or trains to get home.

Emergency services are on the alert as more than 13 districts are under threat of possible bushfires.

Meanwhile, a total fire ban was issued further south in the island state of Tasmania, where authorities continued to battle blazes.

Parts of the southeastern state of Victoria were also sweltering through temperatures above 40 degrees.

Handout / ADELAIDE ZOO / AFP

This recent undated handout photo released to AFP on January 24, 2019 by the Adelaide Zoo shows Brutus the hippo getting hosed down in the heat at Adelaide Zoo in the South Australia city of Adelaide. Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees Centigrade (120 F) on January 24, shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heatstressed bats fell from trees.

The soaring temperatures follow a heatwave last week that saw Australian towns among the hottest places on Earth.

As many as a million fish were discovered dead last week along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, with thousands more found killed

some 900 kilometres (560 miles) away in the north of New South Wales on Monday.

The government has launched a review into the mass fish kill.

National Broadcaster ABC reported that farmers in Western Australia have been forced to cull at least 2,500 feral camels gather-

ing in “plague proportions” in the past month.

Regarded as pests, the ABC said many have wondered onto properties where temperatures had reached 50 Celsius this summer, where they are draining valuable water supply and feed for cattle. (afp)

UN chief warns ‘we are losing the race’ on climate change

Don EMMERT / AFP

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the United Nations Group of 77 and China January 15, 2019 at the United Nations in New York. The event marked the state of Palestine taking over the chair of the G77 and China.

DAVOS - UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that the world is “losing the race” on climate change as he demanded that governments make bolder commitments beyond the Paris accord.

“Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We are losing the race,” he said on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“It is absolutely central to reverse this trend.”

Guterres said he was “not hopeful” that nations would find the resolve but stressed: “We need political will and we need governments who understand that this is the most important priority of our times.”

The Paris climate accord has been shaken by the withdrawal of the United States under President Donald Trump, and by threats to do the same by Brazil’s new hard-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.

The UN secretary-general said

the commitments made in Paris were already “not enough”.

“If what we agreed in Paris would be materialised, the temperature would rise more than 3.0 degrees (Celsius),” he said on a Facebook Live broadcast from Davos.

“We need countries to make stronger commitments,” Guterres said, calling for more measures to mitigate against climate change, adapt to it, and financial aid for poorer countries. (afp)

12

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

BEIRUT - A report by Moody’s Investors Service that downgraded the country’s long-term investment ratings reflects the urgent need for quickly forming a new government, implementing reforms and reducing budget deficit, Lebanon’s finance minister and experts said Tuesday.

AP Photo/Hussein Malla

Eucalyptus Forest Waiting for You..!

A man receives a money transfer in Lebanese currency from a Western Union shop, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. Earlier this month, Lebanon’s central bank announced that all money sent through transfer services must now be collected in Lebanese pounds.

New tourist destinations in Bangli district continue to emerge. One of them is the Ampupu Kembar (twin eucalyptus) tourist attraction. This object is now much loved by visitors to just take selfie or camp. Actually, in the past the area looked slum.

ing saying that the then “B3 rating reflects Moody’s assumption that a government will be formed in the near term and will implement some fiscal consolidation.”

Monday’s report came hours after the wealthy nation of Qatar announced it will invest $500 million in Lebanese government bonds to support the Mediterranean country’s struggling economy. The Qatari announcement was a small boost to Lebanon’s standing and calmed nerves in the markets.

The Moody’s report appeared to have been researched before the Qatari announcement and made no mention of it.

“This was expected because everyone knows that the political conditions are tense.

The Ampupu Kembar is quite easy to reach. It is located on the main road side of the Jati Temple heading for Toya Bungkah, Kintamani. As the name implies, there are many ampupu or eucalyptus trees in this tourist spot growing facing each other. Meanwhile, in the middle stretches the path to Lake Batur. On the path, a lot of colorful bamboo steamers are suspended. Some beautiful and contemporary photo spots as well as swings to relax are also available.

Chief of Ampupu Kembar Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis), Jero Gede Kasuma, recently explained that Ampupu Kembar was opened on December 3, 2017.

Although it is relatively new, the average tourist visit to this location is quite high. They are mostly local tourists. During dry season, the average visit to Ampupu Kembar reaches 30 people per day. The number of visits will usually increase during weekends and holidays.

In this tourist attraction, there are three types of attractions offered, namely spots to take selfie,

There are delays in government formation and at the same time the deficit is deteriorating and economic growth is weak,” said economist Ghazi Wazni.

He added that at the same time there are concerns over a drop in the flow of money into Lebanon and an increase of deficit in balance of payment.

Lebanon’s budget deficit stands at about 10 percent of its $55 billion economy.

Lebanon’s Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has been repeatedly reassuring Lebanese that the crisis can be contained, adding that reserves at the bank stand at more than $40 billion and can protect the local currency that has been pegged to the dollar

for two decades.

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s Central Bank announced that all money sent through transfer services must now be collected in Lebanese pounds. Some saw the move as a step to boost reserves.

Wazni, the economist, said Moody’s did not take into consideration the Qatar investment that he says was a “message of confidence that Lebanon will pay back its debt.”

Wazni added that Lebanon never defaulted in the past even during critical times such as the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah that lasted for more than a month. (ap)

Bank of Japan lowers inflation forecasts again

Japan’s central bank again revised down its inflation forecasts on Wednesday, a further sign that authorities are losing the battle to boost prices in the world’s thirdlargest economy.

After a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan’s policy board left its mammoth monetary easing programme in place, as expected, and lowered the inflation forecast for the fiscal year ending March next year

to 0.9 percent from 1.4 percent.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the decision to revise down the forecast was “due primarily to the decline in crude oil prices”, but added it would only be temporary.

“It is true that it will take some time for us to achieve the two-percent target,” he told reporters, referring to the bank’s long-held goal. “It is our belief that the most appropriate way is to patiently continue the

5

Jaja Laklak Also Preferred by Tourists

Lebanon rating downgraded on default risks

The statement by Ali Hassan Khalil, in which he assured that Lebanon’s financial and monetary conditions are stable and Beirut is capable to paying back its debt, came in a tweet after Moody’s downgraded Lebanon’s issuer ratings to Caa1 from B3 on Monday. The outlook was changed to stable from negative.

Lebanon’s economy has been under pressure for years from the war in neighboring Syria, a debt of $85 billion equal to 150 percent of its GDP, high unemployment and little growth. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has not been able to form a Cabinet since May’s parliamentary elections because of political disagreements, and concerns of a full-blown crisis are growing.

There are concerns that the political crisis will scuttle pledges worth $11 billion by international donors made during the CEDRE conference in Paris in April last year and lead to economic disaster. A drop in oil prices has also affected transfers by tens of thousands of Lebanese working in oil-rich gulf states to their home country.

More recently, Khalil was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the country may restructure its debt, leading to a sell-off in Lebanese bonds. He later clarified that Lebanon is committed to paying back all maturing debt. Moody’s said its decision reflects the heightened risk that the government’s response to increased liquidity and financial stability risks will include “a debt rescheduling or other liability management exercise that may constitute a default under Moody’s definition.”

Moody’s report came a month after the agency also downgraded Lebanon’s rat-

Friday, January 25, 2019

existing monetary easing.”

The downward revision follows a previous downgrade in late October.

In 2013, the BoJ embarked on a huge bond-buying programme in a bid to stimulate long-dormant prices with the stated aim of hitting the twopercent mark within two years.

But while the plan -- which ran in tandem with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s big-spending drive to ramp up the economy -- showed

early promise, the bank has been forced to delay several times the date for hitting its target.

It has in the past blamed the “deflation mindset” of consumers and employers used to long periods of low growth and falling prices.

While the bank said Japan’s economy will likely continue to expand, it added that “the mindset and behaviour based on the assumption that wages and prices

will not increase easily have been deeply entrenched”.

Officials have pointed to other factors, including cautious wage and price growth from firms, and increased technological progress that has reduced costs and intensified competition.

“It has been taking time to resolve these factors that have been delaying price rises,” the bank said. (afp)

fishing ground and camping ground at lakeside. Jero Kasuma explained that before becoming a recreation site, at first the area was just a regular eucalyptus forest filled with bushes. The forest is located in the Mount Batur Bukit Payang Nature Tourism Park (TWA) area owned by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Bali was also slum because it was filled with a lot of garbage.

By involving the surrounding communities being unfamiliar with tourism, he then tried to arrange the forest by degrees. In line with that, Pokdarwis was formed to jointly manage the eucalyptus forest into a tourist attraction.

To manage the eucalyptus forest covering the area of approximately 21 hectares, the Pokdarwis has received permission from the BKSDA. “From the BKSDA, there is no prohibition if the forest area is managed as long as it does not damage the forest,” he said accompanied by Deputy Chief of the Pokdarwis, I Wayan Wismargi.

Jero Kasuma revealed that since the past year, people belonging to the members of Pokdarwis have

begun to change in looking at forest sustainability. Those who mostly work as farmers and rock diggers have now begun to realize the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of forest environment. “The initial idea of ??this development is to feature empowerment. Thus, people know about tourism, not just become spectators,” he said.

To attract more visitors, he will develop and add facilities.

As planned, it will be made a homestay, cultural stage, canteen and additional photo spots. He added that to enjoy the tourism in Ampupu Kembar, visitors are only charged an admission ticket of IDR 10,000 per person. Of this amount, IDR 5,000 is paid to the BKSDA and the rest is managed

by Pokdarwis for the development of tourism objects.

Meanwhile, one of the tourists from Germany, Sven Nikel, admitted that he is happy to visit Ampupu Kembar because of its natural atmosphere. Coming with his wife and two children, he really enjoyed the air in the Ampupu Kembar area claimed to be very fresh. (kmb)

Jaja laklak (cake) is served with grated coconut together with brown sugar topping. When biting carefully, this cake feels soft and delicious. It is made by Balinese people utilizing rice flour. This cake has circular shape with a diameter of 3 cm and is made with clay mold.

It tastes good and is perfect for sitting in the morning, moreover, if coupled with warm Balinese coffee or tea. Laklak is white because it is not using food coloring, there is also a green one coming from the extract water of suji leaves. Jaja laklak is very easy to carry everywhere, so it’s good for food gift.

This cake is usually sold at food stalls at villages in the morning.

This traditional cake is also sold in traditional markets and cake shops as well as has been taken advantage as appetizer at hotels. At the same time, it is often adopted as menu of option for citizens at wedding receptions or opening menu for participants of meetings, seminars and other gathering events at hotels or restaurants.

In cake shops, jaja laklak has been packed in plastic boxes with grated coconut and brown sugar sauce. But lately, the plastic packaging has begun to be abandoned because it causes a lot of plastic waste which is difficult to decompose. Unlike the cake traders at villagers, they use banana leaves to wrap the cakes.

This jaja laklak is usually sold for IDR 5,000 per wrap containing 5 or 4 pieces. The top appearance

of this cake is usually added with grated coconut and brown sugar sauce. In addition to local people, this cake is also favored by domestic and foreign tourists. So naturally, it has become a hotel cake commonly served as an appetizer or welcome cake.

The ingredients of jaja laklak consist of rice flour, coconut (to be made into coconut milk), suji leaves, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar and water. Preparation: put rice flour into a container and then pour hot water little by little while stirring until finely blended.

Then, pour the coconut milk little by little as well, while continuing to stir. Then, added suji leaf water to create a distinctive aroma, add salt to taste and then stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed.

Ultimately, prepare the mold and preheat it first. After that, pour the batter of laklak with a spoon in accordance with the mold hole. Cover the mold and then wait for it to get cooked. Next, make brown sugar sauce by dissolving brown sugar and granulated sugar in boiled water. Simultaneously, stir it until boiling and then lifted and filtered.

Boil it back until it thickens. Coconut is shredded and mixed with salt according to taste.

How to present? First of all, put some pieces of jaja laklak on a plate or banana leaf in such away so as to look nice. Then, sprinkle them with grated coconut and pour the brown sugar sauce on top. Now, it is ready to taste! (kmb)

6

Friday, January 25, 2019

W

RLD

The aircraft manufacturer currently employs 14,000 people in Britain, including sites at Filton in southwest England and Broughton in north Wales, designing and manufacturing wings. Another 110,000 British jobs are linked with the group’s supply chains.

“If there is a no-deal Brexit, we at Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK,” Enders warned in a video published on the group’s website.

Airbus, which has repeatedly stated that Brexit could mean pulling investment out of Britain, also expressed deep frustration over Prime Minister Theresa May’s faltering Brexit strategy.

- ‘It is a disgrace’ -

“It is a disgrace that more than two years after the result of the 2016 referendum, businesses are still unable to plan properly for the future,” added Enders.

“We, along with many of our peers, have repeatedly called for clarity.

“But we still have no idea what is really going on here.”

British lawmakers last week roundly rejected the divorce terms May agreed with Brussels, raising fresh fears that Britain could crash out with no deal on March 29.

The nation’s powerful CBI business lobby group has also expressed dismay that May had not offered a clearer way forward.

“The global market for aviation is growing at five percent each year. But we are not dependent on the UK for our future,” added Enders on Thursday.

“Airbus will survive and thrive whatever the outcome.

“The question is: does the UK wish to be part of that future success?

“If you are really sure that Brexit is the best for Britain, come together and deliver a pragmatic withdrawal agreement that allows for an orderly Brexit.”

May has promised a debate and votes on the way forward on January 29, with MPs mulling a long list of options including a second referendum or delaying the March 29 divorce date.

Enders meanwhile urged Britons not to listen to “Brexiteers’ madness” that Airbus would always be in Britain.

- ‘Brexiteers’ madness’ -

“Please don’t listen to the Brexiteers’ madness which asserts that, because we have huge plants here, we will not move and we will always be here.

“They are wrong.

“Of course it is not possible to pick up and move our large UK factories to other parts of the world immediately.

“However, aerospace is a long-term business and we could be forced to re-direct future investments in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“Make no mistake, there are plenty of countries out there who would love to build the wings for Airbus aircraft.

The Airbus warning caps a torrid week for corporate Britain after Japanese electronics titan Sony decided to switch European headquarters to the Netherlands, while UK appliance maker Dyson revealed it would move its base to Singapore in 2019.

The Dutch government revealed Wednesday that officials are in contact with more than 250 companies about a possible post-Brexit move.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, speaking to AFP at Davos on Wednesday, nonetheless insisted that Britain remains “open for business” and is still an “attractive destination” for foreign direct investment. (afp)

JESSICA TAYLOR / AFP

A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons in London on January 23, 2019.

Friday, January 25, 2019

INDONESIAN INDONESIAN

Airbus warns no-deal Brexit could spark ‘very harmful decisions’

LONDON - Airbus chief Tom Enders warned Thursday that a no-deal Brexit could prompt the European aerospace giant to make “very harmful decisions” for Britain, and branded the government’s handling a “disgrace”.

International

International

11

ELECTION 2019

Indonesian President chairs meeting on oil and gas draft law

SAM YEH / AFP

An indigenously-made Rui Yuan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen on display during a military exercise at the Pingtung Air Force Base in southern Taiwan on January 24, 2019.

Taiwan unveils new drone as China tensions mount

PINGTUNG - Taiwan’s navy showed off its latest long-range surveillance drone Thursday as the island’s outgunned armed forces push to counter China’s increasingly muscular rhetoric and military exercises.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war.

Beijing has said it will not hesitate to use force if Taipei formally declares independence, or in the case of external intervention -- including by the United States, the island’s most powerful unofficial ally.

The already terse relationship between the two sides got off to an even rockier start in the new year after Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a landmark speech describing the island’s unification with the mainland as “inevitable”.

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen hit back saying her people would never relinquish their democratic freedoms, an unusually robust response that saw her receive a bump in the polls after a gruelling few months in which her party lost heavily in local elections.

The island’s military has hosted multiple drills since Xi’s speech, emphasising what it says is a readiness to counter any invasion.

On Thursday, the navy showed off its new, long-range surveillance drone, the “Rui Yuan” (Sharp Hawk), which officials said can fly for 12 hours and was now helping to monitor movements in the disputed strait between Taiwan and China.

“The drones are now an irre-

placeable part of our reconnaissance strategy,” Taiwan defence ministry spokesman Chen Chungchi told AFP. “They are our primary option for activities in the strait.”

The self-ruled island has its own currency, flag and government, but is not recognised as an independent state by the UN. As a result, it struggles to procure key military equipment from many major powers who are fearful of angering Beijing. Instead, it has turned to local manufacturers, particularly for drones and missiles.

“The use of more locally-made drones demonstrates Taiwan’s defence self-sufficiency and helps boost its reconnaissance capabilities,” Wang Kao-cheng, a military analyst at Tamkang University, told AFP. Taiwan’s American F-16 and ageing French-made Mirage fighter jets are being increasingly called upon to respond to military movements from China, with some analysts warning the fleet is getting worn down and lacking crucial spare parts.

Lin Ming-chang, an executive officer with Taiwan’s navy, said drones were particularly costeffective for surveillance.

“A pilot, when he flies, has to come back in two hours. But not the Rui-yuan drone. We can stay up in the air for up to 12 hours,” he said.

“In operating terms, both when it comes to fuel or machine parts, the drone can operate way longer than manned aircraft.”

The navy also unveiled a handlaunched surveillance drone on Thursday called “The Cardinal”, which it said could stay airborne for an hour. (afp)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo chaired a limited cabinet meeting here on Wednesday to discuss the draft law on oil and gas initiated by the House of Representatives (DPR).

The president urged ministers attending the meeting to conduct a thorough and careful study of the draft law to ensure that it did not run counter to the state`s Constitution.

“This is the House of Representatives` initiative. We need to study it thoroughly and carefully,” he noted in his opening remarks at the meeting, attended

by Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution and several other cabinet members. President Widodo remarked that oil and gas had become the main and strategic source of financing for Indonesia`s development, so the oil and gas law should be able to strengthen the country`s energy security.

The oil and gas draft law should also be able to help secure the country`s national production and strengthen capacities of local industries as well as boost the development of skilled human resources in the oil and gas sector, he explained.

President Widodo added that the draft law initiated by the House should be able to ensure that the country`s oil and gas management could be simpler as well as more efficient and transparent.

The limited cabinet meeting was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Sumarno, and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona H. Laoly, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, and State Secretary Minister Pratikno also attended the meeting.

In the past, Indonesia had also become one of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, it has currently become a net importer of oil owing to shrinking domestic production and fast-growing domestic consumption.

To deal with this condition, state-owned energy company PT Pertamina is expected to use all crude oil production of Indonesia to be fed into its refineries in 2019. Pertamina has to spend large amount of foreign exchange for the import of crude oil to feed its oil refineries, as most of the country`s crude oil production by oil contractors is exported. (ant)

IBP/kmb

Death toll from Indonesian floods, landslides rises to 30

AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil

A woman sits on a rubber boat as she is evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. Torrential rains that overwhelmed a dam and caused landslides killed at least six people and displaced more than 2,000 in central Indonesia, officials said Wednesday.

MAKASSAR — Floods and landslides in a central Indonesian province hit by torrential rains this week have killed 30 people and left more than two dozen missing, the national disaster agency said Thursday.

Ten districts and cities in South Sulawesi province including the capital, Makassar, have been affected by flooding that began late Tuesday, forcing more than 3,000 people to flee their homes.

Adnan Purichta Ichsann, the chief of Gowa district near Makassar, says operators of the Bili Bili rock-fill embankment dam were forced to release water on Tuesday, which contributed to flooding but avoided a worse disaster.

South Sulawesi Gov. Nurdin Adbullah told local media that siltation of the dam and deforestation of the

upstream watershed worsened the floods.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 30 people were confirmed dead and 25 were reported missing.

The head of the provincial disaster agency, Syamsibar, who goes by a single name, said the amount of rainfall was declining Thursday and the Bili Bili dam’s water level had dropped by about two meters (6.6 feet).

Deadly landslides and floods are a frequent occurrence during seasonal rains in Indonesia, with man-made changes to the environment often worsening so-called natural disasters.

A landslide in Sukabumi on the country’s most populous island of Java earlier this month killed 32 people. (ap)

10

Destination

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

USA’s Lindsey Vonn competes during the Women’s Super G event of the FIS Alpine skiing World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italian Alps, on January 20, 2019.

Jagaraga Temple SINGARAJA - The uniqueness of Jagaraga Temple in Bali makes this temple famous. This Pura Dalem is full with ornaments and has delightful sculptured panels alongits front wall. Depicts of aircraft fights, dogfights, bicycle, boat, Kamasutra and old-fashioned car. This temple’s carving shows the life of Balinese people before and after the Dutch come to Indonesia. Dalem Jagaraga Temple is located at Jagaraga village, Sawan subdistrict, 11 km east of Singaraja town, alongside the major road of Sawan-Singaraja. The village is famous for its Jagaraga Struggle against the Dutch colonialism in 1848 under the command of I Gusti Ketut Jelantik. The area of

Dalem Temple has its own uniqueness with a relief of vintage car driven by armed people, relief of crashed aircraft, the relief of Dutch man drinking a beer and others.

Similarly, there is Men Brayut or Goddess Hariti statue, namely a legend of Bali People telling about a mother having many children that scrambled and asked to be carried. Uniqueness, this temple cannot be found in other places in Bali.

Dalem Jagaraga Temple belongs to Pura Kahyangan Tiga, three of the main temples in a village. This is the shrine to worship the god of death Ciwa or Durga so that when someone dies, his/her soul will depart for the heaven, not meandering

on the earth. No definite source as reference about when the temple was built, most people believe that it was built during the Dutch colonial era, as displayed here on the relief carve, showing the war between the local fighters against the Dutch in an epic called Perang Jagaraga, battle of Jagaraga.

“Dalem Jagaraga” Temple is also located close to the villagecemetery; one of them is “Betara Duga” sculpture. There is also some relics that shows about Balinese myths, such as; Rangda, the mean witch. In this temple, you can see a relic about Puputan War that happened on 1848 against The Dutch, under command of Prince Anak Agung Jelantik. (IBP/net)

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Injured Vonn to miss Garmisch training, but ‘hopeful’ of racing

BERLIN - Lindsey Vonn has pulled out of Thursday’s downhill training for the women’s World Cup race in GarmischPartenkirchen, but is “hopeful” she can keep racing despite talking about retirement last weekend.

After failing to finish Sunday’s super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, an emotional Vonn told reporters it may have been her final race, because “there’s only so much my body can take”.

It was a bitterly disappointing weekend for the 34-year-old US

ski star, a four-time overall World Cup winner, who had finished ninth and 15th respectively in the two downhill races on the preceding days in Cortina after skiing with knee braces.

However in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Vonn revealed she

suffered an impact injury while training in Cortina but still hopes to race again, without specifying whether she will ski in Garmisch.

“Now that we know the problem, the next issue is fixing it. So far we haven’t found a solution and as a result I will not be able to compete in tomorrow’s downhill training run (in Garmisch),” Vonn wrote.

“However, since this is a new

‘injury’ per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it.

“I’m taking things day by day and we will see what happens.

“I know that I might not get the ending to my career that I had hoped for, but if there is a chance, I will take it.

“Thanks for all of the support you have shown me, it helps keep me going.”

Vonn, with 82 World Cup wins to her name, has set herself the

challenge of overhauling Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86 World Cup wins before retiring at Lake Louise in December.

After bombing in Cortina, Vonn had been due to compete in Garmisch, where she has won nine times, in Saturday’s downhill and Sunday’s super-G before moving on to the world championships in Sweden from February 5. (afp)

Courageous Kvitova completes ‘long journey’ after knife attack

MELBOURNE - Brave Petra Kvitova admitted Thursday it had been “a long journey” to make the Australian Open final after a knifewielding burglar slashed her racquet hand in an attack that left her traumatised and scared to be alone.

The 28-year-old feared she may never play tennis again after the 33year-old man broke into her apartment in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov just weeks before the opening Grand Slam of 2017.

She suffered career-threatening injuries to her left hand as she fought him off.

Despite grim forecasts by doctors, who even warned she might lose her fingers, the 2011 and 2014

Wimbledon champion never gave up believing and miraculously returned to the sport in time for the 2017 French Open.

But she was still struggling mentally, admitting it took time to regain her confidence.

“It wasn’t only physically but mentally very tough,” she said. “It took me really a while to believe (in the) people around me again, and especially the men, for sure.

“So I wasn’t pretty confident to be alone somewhere.”

Getting her hand back into shape was also a gruelling challenge, involving extensive surgery and months of treatment. She still has nerve damage in her fingers and

struggles to properly clench her fist.

“Yeah, it was a lot of work with the hand. It was lot of recovery, treatment,” she said.

“I think that kind of the sports life helped me a lot with that. I just set up the mind that I really wanted to come back, and I just did everything.

“So I was practising with the hand, like, two, three times per day, which I don’t know if a normal person will do that, but of course I needed the hand to be back on court.

“Not only on the court but to be able to kind of live a normal life.

Those three months were very, very tough.” (afp)

DAVID GRAY / AFP

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova celebrates her victory against Danielle Collins of the US during their women’s singles semifinal match on day 11 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2019.

8

Friday, January 25, 2019

Friday, January 25, 2019

‘Ney is worried’: Neymar suffers fresh metatarsal injury in PSG win

Paris Saint-Germain talisman Neymar has suffered a fresh injury to his right metatarsal, the club said Thursday, marring the holders’ advance to the last 16 of the French Cup with a 2-0 win over Strasbourg.

A fractured metatarsal curtailed the Brazilian’s last season, and the recurrence comes just three weeks ahead of the first leg of PSG’s crunch Champions League clash against Manchester United.

The severity of the new injury is not yet known, although Neymar was able to walk off the field unsupported. “Initial tests carried out revealed a painful reactivation of the injury to the fifth metatarsal,” a club statement said Thursday.

“The treatment will depend on progress over the coming days,” it said, adding all medical options would be considered.

Neymar initially tried to continue playing. But he covered his eyes -in tears, according to witnesses -- as he was forced off to be replaced by Moussa Diaby just after the hour mark.

His early departure was a worrying moment for PSG, with the world’s most expensive player having missed the final three months of last season after breaking the same bone.

Each season PSG, which dominates France’s domestic league, is judged according to its Champions League results. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel after the game said: “The doctor is worried, ‘Ney’ is worried, because it is the same foot, the same place.” “It was a situation where he was fouled three times, one after the other. The referee didn’t give anything. He twisted his foot.”

The PSG coach was also unhappy with suggestions from the Strasbourg players and coach that Neymar had provoked the injury by winding up his opponents. “It’s Neymar’s style, but don’t come and complain when you get kicked,” Strasbourg’s Anthony Goncalves told broadcaster Eurosport.

“He is a great player, I respect him.

He can enjoy himself but don’t come blubbering afterwards.”

- ‘Deeply affected’ -

Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria got the goals on a bitterly cold night at the Parc des Princes. Tuchel had left out the ill Kylian Mbappe for this game, with Eric Maxim ChoupoMoting handed a rare start in place of the superstar France forward.

The Cameroon international set up Cavani for the fourth-minute opener, before Di Maria -- who had earlier hit the post -- finished into the roof of the net 10 minutes from time as PSG stay on track to win the French Cup for the fifth season running.

Before kick-off, fans applauded and chanted the name of Emiliano Sala, the former Nantes striker who is feared dead after the plane he was travelling in disappeared over the Channel Islands on Monday as he was on his way to join his new club Cardiff City.

Nantes’ own Cup tie away at thirdtier Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien has been postponed until Sunday, with their players still in shock over Sala’s disappearance.

Elsewhere, Caen ended the run of plucky sixth-tier amateurs ViryChatillon in a 6-0 rout, with Yacine Bammou setting the Ligue 1 club on their way. An emotional Bammou raised his hands towards the sky after his early goal, in tribute to Sala, with whom he played at Nantes last season.

Caen coach Fabien Mercadal said Bammou had made clear his desire to be involved despite the tragic turn of events.

“We talked about it. What happened is not fair. He was a friend to Yacine, he was deeply affected. The worst thing for him would have been to not play,” said Mercadal.

A group of Caen supporters, for whom Sala spent the second half of the 2014-15 season on loan, also fastened a banner that read “Emiliano” to a fence surrounding the pitch.

Naim Sliti scored a hat-trick as

relegation-threatened Dijon claimed a stunning 6-3 win away at Saint-Etienne for their first victory under new coach Antoine Kombouare, while Rennes overcame fourth-division Saint-Pryve 2-0.

Ly o n g o t o Amiens on Thursday, while Thierry Henry’s Monaco were knocked out on Tuesday when they slumped to a 3-1 home defeat against Metz of Ligue 2. (afp) Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar leaves the pitch following an injury during the French Cup round of 32 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Strasbourg (RCS) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on January 23, 2019.

9

Sanchez, Ozil cast to sideshow as buoyant Man Utd visit Arsenal

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP

Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish League football match between Real Madrid and Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on January 19, 2019.

Real Madrid take top spot from Man Utd in ‘money league’

Real Madrid have knocked Manchester United off the top of Deloitte’s Football Money League, but the Premier League still flexed its financial muscle, with all of England’s ‘Big Six’ featuring in the top 10 for the first time.

The Deloitte list ranked clubs on how much money they earn from broadcasting, commercial deals and match-day revenues during the 2017-18 season.

United had spent the last two years in first place in the financial charts, but they have slipped to third behind European champions Real and Spanish giants Barcelona.

Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris St Germain, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham make up the rest of the top 10.

Dan Jones, the report’s author and a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “European football remains a bull market.

“We have seen Real Madrid shatter records, becoming the first club to break the three-quarters of a billion euro mark and claim a record twelfth Money League title in the process.”

After winning a third consecutive Champions League title, Real generated a record £674.6 million ($881.8 million), giving them the Money League top spot for the 12th time and the first since 2014-15.

All the British clubs were slightly affected by a three per cent year-on-year decline in the value of sterling against the euro.

United’s fall was influenced by their early exit from the Champions League in the last 16 last season and the remarkable growth in the

Spanish duo’s commercial income.

While revenues at Old Trafford grew by only two per cent, they still earned £590 million last season and the latest forecasts suggest they should surge past £615 million this season.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham, the north Londoners making the top 10 for only the second time, all enjoyed healthy increases in their turnover.

Liverpool’s run to the Champions League saw their revenue increase by a massive £90.6 million, largely thanks to £222.6 million in broadcast earnings.

While the extended stay at the national stadium is starting to annoy fans, the Wembley effect helped Tottenham increase their matchday revenues by £26.5 million.

Arsenal saw their income fall by nearly £30 million and they dropped from sixth to ninth in the table, a slide that illustrates the importance of Champions League TV money to every big club’s bottom line.

Further down the table, Everton and West Ham hold on to their 17th and 20th placings, respectively, but Leicester and Southampton dropped out of the top 20 to 22nd and 23rd.

Newcastle, however, climbed to 19th, giving the Premier League nine teams in the top 20, one fewer than last year.

Taken together, the top 20 clubs, who all come from one of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, earned £7.4 billion, up six per cent on last year. (afp)

A year on since moving from Arsenal to Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez has become little more than an afterthought in the Red Devils’ revival since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took caretaker charge.

Sanchez returns to the Emirates for the first time on Friday in the FA Cup fourth round as Solskjaer targets an eighth straight win since replacing the sacked Jose Mourinho.

However, Sanchez has had little impact on United’s upturn in recent weeks with Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford the key players flourishing since Solskjaer released the shackles imposed by Mourinho’s more conservative approach.

Both form and fitness have deserted the Chilean since he bagged reportedly the most lucrative contract in Premier League history last January in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan head to Arsenal.

Sanchez scored 80 goals in 166 games for the Gunners, but has managed just four in 32 appearances over the past year for United.

Mourinho staunchly defended Sanchez during his first six months at Old Trafford, but even the Portuguese’s patience ran out after a string of poor performances this season.

Hamstring and thigh injuries

have hampered his attempts to get back into the side under Solskjaer, but the Norwegian has found a winning formula in the understanding formed between Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.

Sanchez has started just once, in the previous round of the FA Cup against Reading, since the change in management.

Solskjaer has insisted he will get the chance to impress, but as part of his intention to rotate his front line with United still involved in three competitions.

“There are the three who play the most but then you’ve got Romelu (Lukaku), you’ve got Juan (Mata), you’ve got Alexis, so I’ve got a front six I can rotate with,” said Solskjaer.

“I used to be one of four strikers when we played with two. Now we have six forwards and we play with three most of the time.

“We’ll be OK to be able to rotate and there’s enough games and playing time.”

A bit part role is not what United had in mind when they presented Sanchez to much fanfare 12 months ago having beaten rivals Manchester City to his signature.

However, Arsenal have also suffered the aftereffects of the deal that took Sanchez to United.

Like Sanchez, Mesut Ozil was entering the final six months of his

contract at the Emirates a year ago.

Desperate to not lose two of their marquee players on the cheap, Arsenal handed the German a new three-and-a-half year deal worth a reported £350,000 a week.

Yet, Ozil has also increasingly found himself on the bench or even dropped from Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s squad in recent weeks with the Spaniard preferring the more energetic approach of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Aaron Ramsey in midfield.

Ozil’s new deal has also financially hamstrung Emery’s attempts to impose his own stamp on Arsenal after 22 years under Arsene Wenger.

The former Paris Saint-Germain coach admitted earlier this month the club cannot afford to make signings on a permanent basis this month, while Ramsey is set to join Juventus on a free transfer after contract negotiations with the Welsh international broke down.

As team-mates Sanchez and Ozil were the star attractions of an Arsenal side that won the FA Cup in 2015 and 2017.

Come Friday there are likely to be relegated to a side show on the substitutes bench with both clubs left to regret the massive salaries they signed up to a year ago. (afp)

Oli SCARFF / AFP

Manchester United’s Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez warms up for the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on January 19, 2019.

8

Friday, January 25, 2019

Friday, January 25, 2019

‘Ney is worried’: Neymar suffers fresh metatarsal injury in PSG win

Paris Saint-Germain talisman Neymar has suffered a fresh injury to his right metatarsal, the club said Thursday, marring the holders’ advance to the last 16 of the French Cup with a 2-0 win over Strasbourg.

A fractured metatarsal curtailed the Brazilian’s last season, and the recurrence comes just three weeks ahead of the first leg of PSG’s crunch Champions League clash against Manchester United.

The severity of the new injury is not yet known, although Neymar was able to walk off the field unsupported. “Initial tests carried out revealed a painful reactivation of the injury to the fifth metatarsal,” a club statement said Thursday.

“The treatment will depend on progress over the coming days,” it said, adding all medical options would be considered.

Neymar initially tried to continue playing. But he covered his eyes -in tears, according to witnesses -- as he was forced off to be replaced by Moussa Diaby just after the hour mark.

His early departure was a worrying moment for PSG, with the world’s most expensive player having missed the final three months of last season after breaking the same bone.

Each season PSG, which dominates France’s domestic league, is judged according to its Champions League results. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel after the game said: “The doctor is worried, ‘Ney’ is worried, because it is the same foot, the same place.” “It was a situation where he was fouled three times, one after the other. The referee didn’t give anything. He twisted his foot.”

The PSG coach was also unhappy with suggestions from the Strasbourg players and coach that Neymar had provoked the injury by winding up his opponents. “It’s Neymar’s style, but don’t come and complain when you get kicked,” Strasbourg’s Anthony Goncalves told broadcaster Eurosport.

“He is a great player, I respect him.

He can enjoy himself but don’t come blubbering afterwards.”

- ‘Deeply affected’ -

Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria got the goals on a bitterly cold night at the Parc des Princes. Tuchel had left out the ill Kylian Mbappe for this game, with Eric Maxim ChoupoMoting handed a rare start in place of the superstar France forward.

The Cameroon international set up Cavani for the fourth-minute opener, before Di Maria -- who had earlier hit the post -- finished into the roof of the net 10 minutes from time as PSG stay on track to win the French Cup for the fifth season running.

Before kick-off, fans applauded and chanted the name of Emiliano Sala, the former Nantes striker who is feared dead after the plane he was travelling in disappeared over the Channel Islands on Monday as he was on his way to join his new club Cardiff City.

Nantes’ own Cup tie away at thirdtier Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien has been postponed until Sunday, with their players still in shock over Sala’s disappearance.

Elsewhere, Caen ended the run of plucky sixth-tier amateurs ViryChatillon in a 6-0 rout, with Yacine Bammou setting the Ligue 1 club on their way. An emotional Bammou raised his hands towards the sky after his early goal, in tribute to Sala, with whom he played at Nantes last season.

Caen coach Fabien Mercadal said Bammou had made clear his desire to be involved despite the tragic turn of events.

“We talked about it. What happened is not fair. He was a friend to Yacine, he was deeply affected. The worst thing for him would have been to not play,” said Mercadal.

A group of Caen supporters, for whom Sala spent the second half of the 2014-15 season on loan, also fastened a banner that read “Emiliano” to a fence surrounding the pitch.

Naim Sliti scored a hat-trick as

relegation-threatened Dijon claimed a stunning 6-3 win away at Saint-Etienne for their first victory under new coach Antoine Kombouare, while Rennes overcame fourth-division Saint-Pryve 2-0.

Ly o n g o t o Amiens on Thursday, while Thierry Henry’s Monaco were knocked out on Tuesday when they slumped to a 3-1 home defeat against Metz of Ligue 2. (afp) Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar leaves the pitch following an injury during the French Cup round of 32 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Strasbourg (RCS) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on January 23, 2019.

9

Sanchez, Ozil cast to sideshow as buoyant Man Utd visit Arsenal

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP

Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish League football match between Real Madrid and Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on January 19, 2019.

Real Madrid take top spot from Man Utd in ‘money league’

Real Madrid have knocked Manchester United off the top of Deloitte’s Football Money League, but the Premier League still flexed its financial muscle, with all of England’s ‘Big Six’ featuring in the top 10 for the first time.

The Deloitte list ranked clubs on how much money they earn from broadcasting, commercial deals and match-day revenues during the 2017-18 season.

United had spent the last two years in first place in the financial charts, but they have slipped to third behind European champions Real and Spanish giants Barcelona.

Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris St Germain, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham make up the rest of the top 10.

Dan Jones, the report’s author and a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “European football remains a bull market.

“We have seen Real Madrid shatter records, becoming the first club to break the three-quarters of a billion euro mark and claim a record twelfth Money League title in the process.”

After winning a third consecutive Champions League title, Real generated a record £674.6 million ($881.8 million), giving them the Money League top spot for the 12th time and the first since 2014-15.

All the British clubs were slightly affected by a three per cent year-on-year decline in the value of sterling against the euro.

United’s fall was influenced by their early exit from the Champions League in the last 16 last season and the remarkable growth in the

Spanish duo’s commercial income.

While revenues at Old Trafford grew by only two per cent, they still earned £590 million last season and the latest forecasts suggest they should surge past £615 million this season.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham, the north Londoners making the top 10 for only the second time, all enjoyed healthy increases in their turnover.

Liverpool’s run to the Champions League saw their revenue increase by a massive £90.6 million, largely thanks to £222.6 million in broadcast earnings.

While the extended stay at the national stadium is starting to annoy fans, the Wembley effect helped Tottenham increase their matchday revenues by £26.5 million.

Arsenal saw their income fall by nearly £30 million and they dropped from sixth to ninth in the table, a slide that illustrates the importance of Champions League TV money to every big club’s bottom line.

Further down the table, Everton and West Ham hold on to their 17th and 20th placings, respectively, but Leicester and Southampton dropped out of the top 20 to 22nd and 23rd.

Newcastle, however, climbed to 19th, giving the Premier League nine teams in the top 20, one fewer than last year.

Taken together, the top 20 clubs, who all come from one of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, earned £7.4 billion, up six per cent on last year. (afp)

A year on since moving from Arsenal to Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez has become little more than an afterthought in the Red Devils’ revival since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took caretaker charge.

Sanchez returns to the Emirates for the first time on Friday in the FA Cup fourth round as Solskjaer targets an eighth straight win since replacing the sacked Jose Mourinho.

However, Sanchez has had little impact on United’s upturn in recent weeks with Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford the key players flourishing since Solskjaer released the shackles imposed by Mourinho’s more conservative approach.

Both form and fitness have deserted the Chilean since he bagged reportedly the most lucrative contract in Premier League history last January in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan head to Arsenal.

Sanchez scored 80 goals in 166 games for the Gunners, but has managed just four in 32 appearances over the past year for United.

Mourinho staunchly defended Sanchez during his first six months at Old Trafford, but even the Portuguese’s patience ran out after a string of poor performances this season.

Hamstring and thigh injuries

have hampered his attempts to get back into the side under Solskjaer, but the Norwegian has found a winning formula in the understanding formed between Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.

Sanchez has started just once, in the previous round of the FA Cup against Reading, since the change in management.

Solskjaer has insisted he will get the chance to impress, but as part of his intention to rotate his front line with United still involved in three competitions.

“There are the three who play the most but then you’ve got Romelu (Lukaku), you’ve got Juan (Mata), you’ve got Alexis, so I’ve got a front six I can rotate with,” said Solskjaer.

“I used to be one of four strikers when we played with two. Now we have six forwards and we play with three most of the time.

“We’ll be OK to be able to rotate and there’s enough games and playing time.”

A bit part role is not what United had in mind when they presented Sanchez to much fanfare 12 months ago having beaten rivals Manchester City to his signature.

However, Arsenal have also suffered the aftereffects of the deal that took Sanchez to United.

Like Sanchez, Mesut Ozil was entering the final six months of his

contract at the Emirates a year ago.

Desperate to not lose two of their marquee players on the cheap, Arsenal handed the German a new three-and-a-half year deal worth a reported £350,000 a week.

Yet, Ozil has also increasingly found himself on the bench or even dropped from Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s squad in recent weeks with the Spaniard preferring the more energetic approach of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Aaron Ramsey in midfield.

Ozil’s new deal has also financially hamstrung Emery’s attempts to impose his own stamp on Arsenal after 22 years under Arsene Wenger.

The former Paris Saint-Germain coach admitted earlier this month the club cannot afford to make signings on a permanent basis this month, while Ramsey is set to join Juventus on a free transfer after contract negotiations with the Welsh international broke down.

As team-mates Sanchez and Ozil were the star attractions of an Arsenal side that won the FA Cup in 2015 and 2017.

Come Friday there are likely to be relegated to a side show on the substitutes bench with both clubs left to regret the massive salaries they signed up to a year ago. (afp)

Oli SCARFF / AFP

Manchester United’s Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez warms up for the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on January 19, 2019.

10

Destination

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

USA’s Lindsey Vonn competes during the Women’s Super G event of the FIS Alpine skiing World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italian Alps, on January 20, 2019.

Jagaraga Temple SINGARAJA - The uniqueness of Jagaraga Temple in Bali makes this temple famous. This Pura Dalem is full with ornaments and has delightful sculptured panels alongits front wall. Depicts of aircraft fights, dogfights, bicycle, boat, Kamasutra and old-fashioned car. This temple’s carving shows the life of Balinese people before and after the Dutch come to Indonesia. Dalem Jagaraga Temple is located at Jagaraga village, Sawan subdistrict, 11 km east of Singaraja town, alongside the major road of Sawan-Singaraja. The village is famous for its Jagaraga Struggle against the Dutch colonialism in 1848 under the command of I Gusti Ketut Jelantik. The area of

Dalem Temple has its own uniqueness with a relief of vintage car driven by armed people, relief of crashed aircraft, the relief of Dutch man drinking a beer and others.

Similarly, there is Men Brayut or Goddess Hariti statue, namely a legend of Bali People telling about a mother having many children that scrambled and asked to be carried. Uniqueness, this temple cannot be found in other places in Bali.

Dalem Jagaraga Temple belongs to Pura Kahyangan Tiga, three of the main temples in a village. This is the shrine to worship the god of death Ciwa or Durga so that when someone dies, his/her soul will depart for the heaven, not meandering

on the earth. No definite source as reference about when the temple was built, most people believe that it was built during the Dutch colonial era, as displayed here on the relief carve, showing the war between the local fighters against the Dutch in an epic called Perang Jagaraga, battle of Jagaraga.

“Dalem Jagaraga” Temple is also located close to the villagecemetery; one of them is “Betara Duga” sculpture. There is also some relics that shows about Balinese myths, such as; Rangda, the mean witch. In this temple, you can see a relic about Puputan War that happened on 1848 against The Dutch, under command of Prince Anak Agung Jelantik. (IBP/net)

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Injured Vonn to miss Garmisch training, but ‘hopeful’ of racing

BERLIN - Lindsey Vonn has pulled out of Thursday’s downhill training for the women’s World Cup race in GarmischPartenkirchen, but is “hopeful” she can keep racing despite talking about retirement last weekend.

After failing to finish Sunday’s super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, an emotional Vonn told reporters it may have been her final race, because “there’s only so much my body can take”.

It was a bitterly disappointing weekend for the 34-year-old US

ski star, a four-time overall World Cup winner, who had finished ninth and 15th respectively in the two downhill races on the preceding days in Cortina after skiing with knee braces.

However in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Vonn revealed she

suffered an impact injury while training in Cortina but still hopes to race again, without specifying whether she will ski in Garmisch.

“Now that we know the problem, the next issue is fixing it. So far we haven’t found a solution and as a result I will not be able to compete in tomorrow’s downhill training run (in Garmisch),” Vonn wrote.

“However, since this is a new

‘injury’ per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it.

“I’m taking things day by day and we will see what happens.

“I know that I might not get the ending to my career that I had hoped for, but if there is a chance, I will take it.

“Thanks for all of the support you have shown me, it helps keep me going.”

Vonn, with 82 World Cup wins to her name, has set herself the

challenge of overhauling Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86 World Cup wins before retiring at Lake Louise in December.

After bombing in Cortina, Vonn had been due to compete in Garmisch, where she has won nine times, in Saturday’s downhill and Sunday’s super-G before moving on to the world championships in Sweden from February 5. (afp)

Courageous Kvitova completes ‘long journey’ after knife attack

MELBOURNE - Brave Petra Kvitova admitted Thursday it had been “a long journey” to make the Australian Open final after a knifewielding burglar slashed her racquet hand in an attack that left her traumatised and scared to be alone.

The 28-year-old feared she may never play tennis again after the 33year-old man broke into her apartment in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov just weeks before the opening Grand Slam of 2017.

She suffered career-threatening injuries to her left hand as she fought him off.

Despite grim forecasts by doctors, who even warned she might lose her fingers, the 2011 and 2014

Wimbledon champion never gave up believing and miraculously returned to the sport in time for the 2017 French Open.

But she was still struggling mentally, admitting it took time to regain her confidence.

“It wasn’t only physically but mentally very tough,” she said. “It took me really a while to believe (in the) people around me again, and especially the men, for sure.

“So I wasn’t pretty confident to be alone somewhere.”

Getting her hand back into shape was also a gruelling challenge, involving extensive surgery and months of treatment. She still has nerve damage in her fingers and

struggles to properly clench her fist.

“Yeah, it was a lot of work with the hand. It was lot of recovery, treatment,” she said.

“I think that kind of the sports life helped me a lot with that. I just set up the mind that I really wanted to come back, and I just did everything.

“So I was practising with the hand, like, two, three times per day, which I don’t know if a normal person will do that, but of course I needed the hand to be back on court.

“Not only on the court but to be able to kind of live a normal life.

Those three months were very, very tough.” (afp)

DAVID GRAY / AFP

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova celebrates her victory against Danielle Collins of the US during their women’s singles semifinal match on day 11 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2019.

6

Friday, January 25, 2019

W

RLD

The aircraft manufacturer currently employs 14,000 people in Britain, including sites at Filton in southwest England and Broughton in north Wales, designing and manufacturing wings. Another 110,000 British jobs are linked with the group’s supply chains.

“If there is a no-deal Brexit, we at Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK,” Enders warned in a video published on the group’s website.

Airbus, which has repeatedly stated that Brexit could mean pulling investment out of Britain, also expressed deep frustration over Prime Minister Theresa May’s faltering Brexit strategy.

- ‘It is a disgrace’ -

“It is a disgrace that more than two years after the result of the 2016 referendum, businesses are still unable to plan properly for the future,” added Enders.

“We, along with many of our peers, have repeatedly called for clarity.

“But we still have no idea what is really going on here.”

British lawmakers last week roundly rejected the divorce terms May agreed with Brussels, raising fresh fears that Britain could crash out with no deal on March 29.

The nation’s powerful CBI business lobby group has also expressed dismay that May had not offered a clearer way forward.

“The global market for aviation is growing at five percent each year. But we are not dependent on the UK for our future,” added Enders on Thursday.

“Airbus will survive and thrive whatever the outcome.

“The question is: does the UK wish to be part of that future success?

“If you are really sure that Brexit is the best for Britain, come together and deliver a pragmatic withdrawal agreement that allows for an orderly Brexit.”

May has promised a debate and votes on the way forward on January 29, with MPs mulling a long list of options including a second referendum or delaying the March 29 divorce date.

Enders meanwhile urged Britons not to listen to “Brexiteers’ madness” that Airbus would always be in Britain.

- ‘Brexiteers’ madness’ -

“Please don’t listen to the Brexiteers’ madness which asserts that, because we have huge plants here, we will not move and we will always be here.

“They are wrong.

“Of course it is not possible to pick up and move our large UK factories to other parts of the world immediately.

“However, aerospace is a long-term business and we could be forced to re-direct future investments in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“Make no mistake, there are plenty of countries out there who would love to build the wings for Airbus aircraft.

The Airbus warning caps a torrid week for corporate Britain after Japanese electronics titan Sony decided to switch European headquarters to the Netherlands, while UK appliance maker Dyson revealed it would move its base to Singapore in 2019.

The Dutch government revealed Wednesday that officials are in contact with more than 250 companies about a possible post-Brexit move.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, speaking to AFP at Davos on Wednesday, nonetheless insisted that Britain remains “open for business” and is still an “attractive destination” for foreign direct investment. (afp)

JESSICA TAYLOR / AFP

A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons in London on January 23, 2019.

Friday, January 25, 2019

INDONESIAN INDONESIAN

Airbus warns no-deal Brexit could spark ‘very harmful decisions’

LONDON - Airbus chief Tom Enders warned Thursday that a no-deal Brexit could prompt the European aerospace giant to make “very harmful decisions” for Britain, and branded the government’s handling a “disgrace”.

International

International

11

ELECTION 2019

Indonesian President chairs meeting on oil and gas draft law

SAM YEH / AFP

An indigenously-made Rui Yuan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen on display during a military exercise at the Pingtung Air Force Base in southern Taiwan on January 24, 2019.

Taiwan unveils new drone as China tensions mount

PINGTUNG - Taiwan’s navy showed off its latest long-range surveillance drone Thursday as the island’s outgunned armed forces push to counter China’s increasingly muscular rhetoric and military exercises.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war.

Beijing has said it will not hesitate to use force if Taipei formally declares independence, or in the case of external intervention -- including by the United States, the island’s most powerful unofficial ally.

The already terse relationship between the two sides got off to an even rockier start in the new year after Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a landmark speech describing the island’s unification with the mainland as “inevitable”.

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen hit back saying her people would never relinquish their democratic freedoms, an unusually robust response that saw her receive a bump in the polls after a gruelling few months in which her party lost heavily in local elections.

The island’s military has hosted multiple drills since Xi’s speech, emphasising what it says is a readiness to counter any invasion.

On Thursday, the navy showed off its new, long-range surveillance drone, the “Rui Yuan” (Sharp Hawk), which officials said can fly for 12 hours and was now helping to monitor movements in the disputed strait between Taiwan and China.

“The drones are now an irre-

placeable part of our reconnaissance strategy,” Taiwan defence ministry spokesman Chen Chungchi told AFP. “They are our primary option for activities in the strait.”

The self-ruled island has its own currency, flag and government, but is not recognised as an independent state by the UN. As a result, it struggles to procure key military equipment from many major powers who are fearful of angering Beijing. Instead, it has turned to local manufacturers, particularly for drones and missiles.

“The use of more locally-made drones demonstrates Taiwan’s defence self-sufficiency and helps boost its reconnaissance capabilities,” Wang Kao-cheng, a military analyst at Tamkang University, told AFP. Taiwan’s American F-16 and ageing French-made Mirage fighter jets are being increasingly called upon to respond to military movements from China, with some analysts warning the fleet is getting worn down and lacking crucial spare parts.

Lin Ming-chang, an executive officer with Taiwan’s navy, said drones were particularly costeffective for surveillance.

“A pilot, when he flies, has to come back in two hours. But not the Rui-yuan drone. We can stay up in the air for up to 12 hours,” he said.

“In operating terms, both when it comes to fuel or machine parts, the drone can operate way longer than manned aircraft.”

The navy also unveiled a handlaunched surveillance drone on Thursday called “The Cardinal”, which it said could stay airborne for an hour. (afp)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo chaired a limited cabinet meeting here on Wednesday to discuss the draft law on oil and gas initiated by the House of Representatives (DPR).

The president urged ministers attending the meeting to conduct a thorough and careful study of the draft law to ensure that it did not run counter to the state`s Constitution.

“This is the House of Representatives` initiative. We need to study it thoroughly and carefully,” he noted in his opening remarks at the meeting, attended

by Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution and several other cabinet members. President Widodo remarked that oil and gas had become the main and strategic source of financing for Indonesia`s development, so the oil and gas law should be able to strengthen the country`s energy security.

The oil and gas draft law should also be able to help secure the country`s national production and strengthen capacities of local industries as well as boost the development of skilled human resources in the oil and gas sector, he explained.

President Widodo added that the draft law initiated by the House should be able to ensure that the country`s oil and gas management could be simpler as well as more efficient and transparent.

The limited cabinet meeting was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Sumarno, and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona H. Laoly, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, and State Secretary Minister Pratikno also attended the meeting.

In the past, Indonesia had also become one of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, it has currently become a net importer of oil owing to shrinking domestic production and fast-growing domestic consumption.

To deal with this condition, state-owned energy company PT Pertamina is expected to use all crude oil production of Indonesia to be fed into its refineries in 2019. Pertamina has to spend large amount of foreign exchange for the import of crude oil to feed its oil refineries, as most of the country`s crude oil production by oil contractors is exported. (ant)

IBP/kmb

Death toll from Indonesian floods, landslides rises to 30

AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil

A woman sits on a rubber boat as she is evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. Torrential rains that overwhelmed a dam and caused landslides killed at least six people and displaced more than 2,000 in central Indonesia, officials said Wednesday.

MAKASSAR — Floods and landslides in a central Indonesian province hit by torrential rains this week have killed 30 people and left more than two dozen missing, the national disaster agency said Thursday.

Ten districts and cities in South Sulawesi province including the capital, Makassar, have been affected by flooding that began late Tuesday, forcing more than 3,000 people to flee their homes.

Adnan Purichta Ichsann, the chief of Gowa district near Makassar, says operators of the Bili Bili rock-fill embankment dam were forced to release water on Tuesday, which contributed to flooding but avoided a worse disaster.

South Sulawesi Gov. Nurdin Adbullah told local media that siltation of the dam and deforestation of the

upstream watershed worsened the floods.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 30 people were confirmed dead and 25 were reported missing.

The head of the provincial disaster agency, Syamsibar, who goes by a single name, said the amount of rainfall was declining Thursday and the Bili Bili dam’s water level had dropped by about two meters (6.6 feet).

Deadly landslides and floods are a frequent occurrence during seasonal rains in Indonesia, with man-made changes to the environment often worsening so-called natural disasters.

A landslide in Sukabumi on the country’s most populous island of Java earlier this month killed 32 people. (ap)

12

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

Bali News

International

BUSINESS

BEIRUT - A report by Moody’s Investors Service that downgraded the country’s long-term investment ratings reflects the urgent need for quickly forming a new government, implementing reforms and reducing budget deficit, Lebanon’s finance minister and experts said Tuesday.

AP Photo/Hussein Malla

Eucalyptus Forest Waiting for You..!

A man receives a money transfer in Lebanese currency from a Western Union shop, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. Earlier this month, Lebanon’s central bank announced that all money sent through transfer services must now be collected in Lebanese pounds.

New tourist destinations in Bangli district continue to emerge. One of them is the Ampupu Kembar (twin eucalyptus) tourist attraction. This object is now much loved by visitors to just take selfie or camp. Actually, in the past the area looked slum.

ing saying that the then “B3 rating reflects Moody’s assumption that a government will be formed in the near term and will implement some fiscal consolidation.”

Monday’s report came hours after the wealthy nation of Qatar announced it will invest $500 million in Lebanese government bonds to support the Mediterranean country’s struggling economy. The Qatari announcement was a small boost to Lebanon’s standing and calmed nerves in the markets.

The Moody’s report appeared to have been researched before the Qatari announcement and made no mention of it.

“This was expected because everyone knows that the political conditions are tense.

The Ampupu Kembar is quite easy to reach. It is located on the main road side of the Jati Temple heading for Toya Bungkah, Kintamani. As the name implies, there are many ampupu or eucalyptus trees in this tourist spot growing facing each other. Meanwhile, in the middle stretches the path to Lake Batur. On the path, a lot of colorful bamboo steamers are suspended. Some beautiful and contemporary photo spots as well as swings to relax are also available.

Chief of Ampupu Kembar Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis), Jero Gede Kasuma, recently explained that Ampupu Kembar was opened on December 3, 2017.

Although it is relatively new, the average tourist visit to this location is quite high. They are mostly local tourists. During dry season, the average visit to Ampupu Kembar reaches 30 people per day. The number of visits will usually increase during weekends and holidays.

In this tourist attraction, there are three types of attractions offered, namely spots to take selfie,

There are delays in government formation and at the same time the deficit is deteriorating and economic growth is weak,” said economist Ghazi Wazni.

He added that at the same time there are concerns over a drop in the flow of money into Lebanon and an increase of deficit in balance of payment.

Lebanon’s budget deficit stands at about 10 percent of its $55 billion economy.

Lebanon’s Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has been repeatedly reassuring Lebanese that the crisis can be contained, adding that reserves at the bank stand at more than $40 billion and can protect the local currency that has been pegged to the dollar

for two decades.

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s Central Bank announced that all money sent through transfer services must now be collected in Lebanese pounds. Some saw the move as a step to boost reserves.

Wazni, the economist, said Moody’s did not take into consideration the Qatar investment that he says was a “message of confidence that Lebanon will pay back its debt.”

Wazni added that Lebanon never defaulted in the past even during critical times such as the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah that lasted for more than a month. (ap)

Bank of Japan lowers inflation forecasts again

Japan’s central bank again revised down its inflation forecasts on Wednesday, a further sign that authorities are losing the battle to boost prices in the world’s thirdlargest economy.

After a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan’s policy board left its mammoth monetary easing programme in place, as expected, and lowered the inflation forecast for the fiscal year ending March next year

to 0.9 percent from 1.4 percent.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the decision to revise down the forecast was “due primarily to the decline in crude oil prices”, but added it would only be temporary.

“It is true that it will take some time for us to achieve the two-percent target,” he told reporters, referring to the bank’s long-held goal. “It is our belief that the most appropriate way is to patiently continue the

5

Jaja Laklak Also Preferred by Tourists

Lebanon rating downgraded on default risks

The statement by Ali Hassan Khalil, in which he assured that Lebanon’s financial and monetary conditions are stable and Beirut is capable to paying back its debt, came in a tweet after Moody’s downgraded Lebanon’s issuer ratings to Caa1 from B3 on Monday. The outlook was changed to stable from negative.

Lebanon’s economy has been under pressure for years from the war in neighboring Syria, a debt of $85 billion equal to 150 percent of its GDP, high unemployment and little growth. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has not been able to form a Cabinet since May’s parliamentary elections because of political disagreements, and concerns of a full-blown crisis are growing.

There are concerns that the political crisis will scuttle pledges worth $11 billion by international donors made during the CEDRE conference in Paris in April last year and lead to economic disaster. A drop in oil prices has also affected transfers by tens of thousands of Lebanese working in oil-rich gulf states to their home country.

More recently, Khalil was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the country may restructure its debt, leading to a sell-off in Lebanese bonds. He later clarified that Lebanon is committed to paying back all maturing debt. Moody’s said its decision reflects the heightened risk that the government’s response to increased liquidity and financial stability risks will include “a debt rescheduling or other liability management exercise that may constitute a default under Moody’s definition.”

Moody’s report came a month after the agency also downgraded Lebanon’s rat-

Friday, January 25, 2019

existing monetary easing.”

The downward revision follows a previous downgrade in late October.

In 2013, the BoJ embarked on a huge bond-buying programme in a bid to stimulate long-dormant prices with the stated aim of hitting the twopercent mark within two years.

But while the plan -- which ran in tandem with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s big-spending drive to ramp up the economy -- showed

early promise, the bank has been forced to delay several times the date for hitting its target.

It has in the past blamed the “deflation mindset” of consumers and employers used to long periods of low growth and falling prices.

While the bank said Japan’s economy will likely continue to expand, it added that “the mindset and behaviour based on the assumption that wages and prices

will not increase easily have been deeply entrenched”.

Officials have pointed to other factors, including cautious wage and price growth from firms, and increased technological progress that has reduced costs and intensified competition.

“It has been taking time to resolve these factors that have been delaying price rises,” the bank said. (afp)

fishing ground and camping ground at lakeside. Jero Kasuma explained that before becoming a recreation site, at first the area was just a regular eucalyptus forest filled with bushes. The forest is located in the Mount Batur Bukit Payang Nature Tourism Park (TWA) area owned by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Bali was also slum because it was filled with a lot of garbage.

By involving the surrounding communities being unfamiliar with tourism, he then tried to arrange the forest by degrees. In line with that, Pokdarwis was formed to jointly manage the eucalyptus forest into a tourist attraction.

To manage the eucalyptus forest covering the area of approximately 21 hectares, the Pokdarwis has received permission from the BKSDA. “From the BKSDA, there is no prohibition if the forest area is managed as long as it does not damage the forest,” he said accompanied by Deputy Chief of the Pokdarwis, I Wayan Wismargi.

Jero Kasuma revealed that since the past year, people belonging to the members of Pokdarwis have

begun to change in looking at forest sustainability. Those who mostly work as farmers and rock diggers have now begun to realize the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of forest environment. “The initial idea of ??this development is to feature empowerment. Thus, people know about tourism, not just become spectators,” he said.

To attract more visitors, he will develop and add facilities.

As planned, it will be made a homestay, cultural stage, canteen and additional photo spots. He added that to enjoy the tourism in Ampupu Kembar, visitors are only charged an admission ticket of IDR 10,000 per person. Of this amount, IDR 5,000 is paid to the BKSDA and the rest is managed

by Pokdarwis for the development of tourism objects.

Meanwhile, one of the tourists from Germany, Sven Nikel, admitted that he is happy to visit Ampupu Kembar because of its natural atmosphere. Coming with his wife and two children, he really enjoyed the air in the Ampupu Kembar area claimed to be very fresh. (kmb)

Jaja laklak (cake) is served with grated coconut together with brown sugar topping. When biting carefully, this cake feels soft and delicious. It is made by Balinese people utilizing rice flour. This cake has circular shape with a diameter of 3 cm and is made with clay mold.

It tastes good and is perfect for sitting in the morning, moreover, if coupled with warm Balinese coffee or tea. Laklak is white because it is not using food coloring, there is also a green one coming from the extract water of suji leaves. Jaja laklak is very easy to carry everywhere, so it’s good for food gift.

This cake is usually sold at food stalls at villages in the morning.

This traditional cake is also sold in traditional markets and cake shops as well as has been taken advantage as appetizer at hotels. At the same time, it is often adopted as menu of option for citizens at wedding receptions or opening menu for participants of meetings, seminars and other gathering events at hotels or restaurants.

In cake shops, jaja laklak has been packed in plastic boxes with grated coconut and brown sugar sauce. But lately, the plastic packaging has begun to be abandoned because it causes a lot of plastic waste which is difficult to decompose. Unlike the cake traders at villagers, they use banana leaves to wrap the cakes.

This jaja laklak is usually sold for IDR 5,000 per wrap containing 5 or 4 pieces. The top appearance

of this cake is usually added with grated coconut and brown sugar sauce. In addition to local people, this cake is also favored by domestic and foreign tourists. So naturally, it has become a hotel cake commonly served as an appetizer or welcome cake.

The ingredients of jaja laklak consist of rice flour, coconut (to be made into coconut milk), suji leaves, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar and water. Preparation: put rice flour into a container and then pour hot water little by little while stirring until finely blended.

Then, pour the coconut milk little by little as well, while continuing to stir. Then, added suji leaf water to create a distinctive aroma, add salt to taste and then stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed.

Ultimately, prepare the mold and preheat it first. After that, pour the batter of laklak with a spoon in accordance with the mold hole. Cover the mold and then wait for it to get cooked. Next, make brown sugar sauce by dissolving brown sugar and granulated sugar in boiled water. Simultaneously, stir it until boiling and then lifted and filtered.

Boil it back until it thickens. Coconut is shredded and mixed with salt according to taste.

How to present? First of all, put some pieces of jaja laklak on a plate or banana leaf in such away so as to look nice. Then, sprinkle them with grated coconut and pour the brown sugar sauce on top. Now, it is ready to taste! (kmb)

4

Bali News

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

Seaweed only survives at Suana and Batununggul

SEMARAPURA - In the past, seaweed was the icon of the Nusa Penida archipelago.

However, today its cultivation is gradually abandoned.

At this time, the seaweed cultivation only survives in the villages of Suana and Batununggul.

The regional government is now trying to re-develop seaweed cultivation, so that it does not become extinct. Actually, aside from the two villages mentioned above, seaweed cultivation also rapidly developed at several villages, such as Lembongan, Jungut Batu, Ped to Kutampi Kaler. Drastic decline in production most noticeably happened at the end of 2016. Now, the local government through the Klungkung Food and Fisheries Agency proactively seeks the markets, so that the seaweed production can be absorbed maximally to stimulate the cultivation again.

As follow up of the dissemination on the results of the study of seaweed cultivation at Lembongan recently, the Head of the Food and Fisheries Agency, I Wayan Durma, on Tuesday (Jan. 22) invited potential buyers that already have owned a factory. One of them is from Patas, Singaraja. This entrepreneur is said to be ready to purchase dry or wet seaweed to be further processed into cosmetic products.

“They are ready to purchase as much production as possible. This is one of our basic problems. If we produce, of course there must be

Friday, January 25, 2019

International

13

South Australia heatwave smashes record temperatures

ADELAIDE - Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees on Thursday, shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heat-stressed bats fell from trees.

IBP/kmb

At this time, the seaweed cultivation only survives in the villages of Suana and Batununggul. buyers with prices according to market developments,” said Durma, when met in his room.

According to him, the results of survey using questionnaires in Nusa Penida subdistrict, the majority of the people, he said, wanted to plunge back into seaweed cultivation. Seeing the results, as well as the potential of nature and the commitment of Regent Nyoman Suwirta to revitalize it, the seaweed cultivation must continue. After in Lembongan, there are two more places targeted for the dissemina-

tion of the study results, namely the Suana and Batununggul village. Results of the demonstration plot’s study of the seaweed must be known to the public.

According to him, there must be a synergy between seaweed cultivation and tourism. Such synergy can be realized in many kinds. For example, the seaweed is processed into certain products that can attract tourists, the cultivation is divided into zones as tourist attractions as well as the offer to seaweed farmers to simultaneously develop

other commodities supporting local tourism such as the cultivation of crabs, groupers and others. In short, it is the effort to realize seaweed farmers as a tourist attraction, not the farmers are busy switching professions and leaving seaweed cultivation.

Durma added that to work together on seaweed cultivation, his agency also coordinated with the Bali Fisheries and Maritime Agency because rebuilding seaweed cultivation is a shared responsibility.

Seaweed production had reached its heyday a few years ago. In 2013, the total production reached 100,859.5 tons, in 2014 decreased to 83,780.8 tons, in 2015 rose again to 106,295.5 tons, in 2016 remained the same at 106,295.5 tons but in 2017 began experiencing production decline of 597.7 tons. In the meantime, the data for 2018 have not been entered. The results of the study showed a decrease in seaweed production due to weather condition, tourism development, and difficulty in regenerating farmers. (kmb36)

Drifting garbage worried to trigger floods at Sesetan

IBP/kmb12

Some downstream areas are prone to floods and inundation, namely Sesetan village.

DENPASAR - The threat of floods in Denpasar area during the rainy season remains quite a lot. Some downstream areas are prone to floods and inundation, namely Sesetan village. The village consisting of 14 neighborhoods is often hit by inundation during rainy season. However, in the past year, it has been overcome by flushing rivers and prohibiting residents from dumping garbage into the river.

Headman of Sesetan, Ketut Sri Karyawati, when met in Denpasar on Monday (Jan. 21) acknowledged the threat of floods could have been overcome. It was carried out by flushing the river flow at Sesetan.

However, the most important thing is to make people aware of not

throwing garbage into the river.

“At present, the inundation threat that occurs in Sesetan area has been overcome,” she said.

She said that before the rainy season in 2018, her authority already approached to the hamlet chief to overcome floods. After that, it was agreed to do flushing in the river, drainage, and other channels. “We have also coordinated with Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) for the flushing,” she said.

In addition, the most important thing is that no more people throw garbage into the river. If all people are aware of the environment, the threat of floods can be overcome.

“Thankfully in 2018 we were no longer subject to the threat of

floods,” he said.

Nevertheless, her authority is still worried because of the location of Sesetan in the downstream.

During the rain some time ago, the headman had observed the Tukad Rangda where the drifting garbage was still in the river. “If this is not handled properly, Sesetan will still face a threat of floods,” she explained.

She hoped the case of having a lot of puddles in 2016 will no longer occur. Moreover, in SMPN 6 there were puddles reaching the height of knee-deep of adults. Similarly, the SDN 13 was also affected by floods. “Hopefully, this year (2019) Sesetan can be free from the threat of floods,” she added. (kmb12)

The Bureau of Meteorology reported temperatures of 49.5 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) north of Adelaide, while inside the city temperatures reached 47.7 Celsius, breaking a record that had stood since 1939.

Adelaide residents are used to sweltering days during the southern hemisphere summer, but even they struggled with the oppressive temperatures.

More than 13 towns across South Australia have smashed their own heat records.

The state’s health authorities early Thursday reported that 44 people had received emergency treatment for heat-related illnesses in the past 24 hours.

“Remember to check on elderly friends, relatives and neighbours, and those who are unwell,” the state emergency services tweeted.

Health authorities were also forced to issue a public warning to avoid contact with hundreds of heat-stressed bats falling from trees in parkland areas.

Authorities in central Australia said they had to cull more than 50 feral horses, after they found 90 dead or dying wild brumbies near a dried-up water hole.

Shocking images of dozens of dead horses strewn across the dry ground began to circulate on social media this week.

“With climate change well and truly upon us, we expect these emergencies to occur with increasing frequency and nobody is truly

prepared and resourced to respond to them,” David Ross, director of indigenous representative body the Central Land Council, said in a statement.

- Bushfire threat While thousands of people have flocked to beaches to cool off in the surf, hundreds have taken to shopping centres to stay out of the heat.

At the Red Lion Hotel in South Australia, publicans gave a free beer to each of their patrons while the temperature remained above 45 degrees.

Around one hundred people lined up for their free drink for over one hour.

At Adelaide Zoo tortoises have been getting cool water wipedowns, rock wallabies have been given ice to lick and hyenas have taken refreshing dips.

But the temperatures are also testing municipal services, with SunCity buses forced to cut their services, leaving commuters searching for trams or trains to get home.

Emergency services are on the alert as more than 13 districts are under threat of possible bushfires.

Meanwhile, a total fire ban was issued further south in the island state of Tasmania, where authorities continued to battle blazes.

Parts of the southeastern state of Victoria were also sweltering through temperatures above 40 degrees.

Handout / ADELAIDE ZOO / AFP

This recent undated handout photo released to AFP on January 24, 2019 by the Adelaide Zoo shows Brutus the hippo getting hosed down in the heat at Adelaide Zoo in the South Australia city of Adelaide. Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees Centigrade (120 F) on January 24, shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heatstressed bats fell from trees.

The soaring temperatures follow a heatwave last week that saw Australian towns among the hottest places on Earth.

As many as a million fish were discovered dead last week along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, with thousands more found killed

some 900 kilometres (560 miles) away in the north of New South Wales on Monday.

The government has launched a review into the mass fish kill.

National Broadcaster ABC reported that farmers in Western Australia have been forced to cull at least 2,500 feral camels gather-

ing in “plague proportions” in the past month.

Regarded as pests, the ABC said many have wondered onto properties where temperatures had reached 50 Celsius this summer, where they are draining valuable water supply and feed for cattle. (afp)

UN chief warns ‘we are losing the race’ on climate change

Don EMMERT / AFP

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the United Nations Group of 77 and China January 15, 2019 at the United Nations in New York. The event marked the state of Palestine taking over the chair of the G77 and China.

DAVOS - UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that the world is “losing the race” on climate change as he demanded that governments make bolder commitments beyond the Paris accord.

“Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We are losing the race,” he said on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“It is absolutely central to reverse this trend.”

Guterres said he was “not hopeful” that nations would find the resolve but stressed: “We need political will and we need governments who understand that this is the most important priority of our times.”

The Paris climate accord has been shaken by the withdrawal of the United States under President Donald Trump, and by threats to do the same by Brazil’s new hard-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.

The UN secretary-general said

the commitments made in Paris were already “not enough”.

“If what we agreed in Paris would be materialised, the temperature would rise more than 3.0 degrees (Celsius),” he said on a Facebook Live broadcast from Davos.

“We need countries to make stronger commitments,” Guterres said, calling for more measures to mitigate against climate change, adapt to it, and financial aid for poorer countries. (afp)

14

Friday, January 25, 2019

Fashion

International

Chinese Dolce & Gabbana model apologises for Grammy nominee part in race row blasts designers for

IBP/net

Bebe Rexha

BEIJING - A Chinese model who featured in a Dolce & Gabbana promotional video attacked for being culturally insensitive has apologised for her role in the production, more than two months after the firestorm erupted.

The controversy arose in November after the Italian fashion firm posted short clips on Instagram showing a woman eating pizza and

spaghetti with chopsticks, which critics said was offensive to Chinese culture.

It escalated after screenshots

emerged of an Instagram user’s chat with the famously mercurial co-founder Stefano Gabbana, who used smiling poop emojis to describe China and launched insults at the country and its people.

“For not properly interpreting the proper way of holding chopsticks, I express my deepest regret,” model Zuo Ye wrote in a lengthy post put up on Monday on the Weibo social media platform.

“I appreciate the fact that this isn’t just my personal action, but that I am representing the image of our country, and of Chinese culture so I am racked with guilt, deeply apologetic, and will definitely improve my decorum in future.”

Identifying herself as a full-time model, Zuo said she was attacked after the video surfaced, and received online threats, which also extended to her agent, family and friends.

Providing a chronological account of the Milan shoot in November, Zuo said she had no idea the video would be edited the way it was, and was just trying her best to be cooperative.

“I will learn well from this incident, and in future present Chinese culture in a better manner,” she wrote.

Dolce & Gabbana was forced to cancel a Shanghai fashion show as a result of the incident, with brand issuing an apology statement and claiming Gabbana’s account had been hacked.

It did little to calm the situation and the Italian fashion house’s products disappeared from multiple Chinese e-commerce platforms.

The brand’s founders eventually apologised to customers in a specially shot video.

But Dolce & Gabbana products are still unsearchable on e-commerce site Taobao while searches on JD.com turn up no results. (afp) Giant fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has been accused of racism after sharing 3 ads showing a Chinese woman being told on how to use chopsticks.

dubbing her ‘too big’ to dress NEW YORK - An American pop star up for Best New Artist at next month’s Grammys says she’s struggling to find a dress for the ceremony, with designers calling her “too big.”

Bebe Rexha -- a singer who also nabbed a nomination for the tender country pop duet “Meant to Be” -called out designers on social media for refusing to craft her a custom gown, highlighting what has become a perennial issue on the red carpet.

“I had my team hit [up] a lot of designers,” the 29-year-old said. “And a lot of them do not want to dress me because I’m too big.”

“If a size 6/8 is too big, then I don’t know what to tell you. Then I don’t want to wear your fucking dresses,” Rexha said.

“You’re saying that all the women in the world that are size 8 and up are not beautiful and they cannot wear your dresses.”

An American size 8 converts to approximately 40 in Europe and 12 in Britain.

Celebrities including singer Adam Lambert and model Tyra Banks tweeted their support for Rexha, who said her “size 8 ass” will still be attending the Grammys gala on February 10.

Rexha did not specify which designers had turned her down, but her rant underscored the enduring challenge faced by women artists who can’t shimmy into samples, generally limited to runway model sizes 0-4.

A handful of designers responded to the singer’s post offering to lend a hand.

High-profile designer Christian Siriano, who has made a point of dressing curvier stars in the past, tweeted that “we have dressed @ BebeRexha a few times and would love to do it again!”

And eveningwear specialist Elizabeth Kennedy said, “I’d love to make you a dress for the Grammys!”

“I’m a size 8 too, and yes it is a beautiful size.”

- Not a sample size -

Dressing celebrities on the red

Bali News

International

carpet offers designers a platform to promote their work and houses often loan stars outfits for A-list events -- but a number of stars have admitted to buying their own dresses off the rack.

Television star Megan Mullally, who is set to host the Screen Actors Guild Awards this weekend, posted on Instagram last month: “looks like i will be buying my dress online.” “even though there is literally a 100 percent chance that i will be on camera, because I’M HOSTING IT,” she said, adding that “designers do not send me dresses.” “oh, the glamor of it all.”

In 2016, actress Leslie Jones drew attention to the issue after tweeting that she had nothing to wear to the premiere of Ghostbusters, a film she starred in, due to her size.

“It’s so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for a movie,” tweeted Jones.

“Hmmm that will change and I remember everything.”

Siriano came to the rescue, dressing the statuesque actress in an off-the-shoulder, power-red column gown with a thigh-high slit.

“It shouldn’t be exceptional to work with brilliant people just because they’re not sample size. Congrats aren’t in order, a change is,” Siriano tweeted of the episode.

The New York-based designer later said dressing Jones became a silver bullet for sales.

“We’ve sold hundreds of that red gown,” Siriano told People magazine. “Certain celebrities, when they wear clothes, people immediately want it.”

“Our wildcard is when we dress Leslie.”

California-based Japanese designer Tadashi Shoji, whose fans include actress Octavia Spencer, has also made it his business to cater to a spectrum of bodies.

His techniques include ruching and draping to flatter everyone from size 0 petite to 24 -- what he refers to as “queen size.” (afp)

Friday, January 25, 2019

3

After being flushed by rain

Drifting trash piles up on the beach MANGUPURA — The rain flushing Bali and its surroundings in the past two days made the coast in Badung district filled with drifting trash. The plastic-dominated trash piles are seen along the coast, such as Kuta, Kedonganan, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu and others.

Head of the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK), Putu Eka Marthawan, confirmed the garbage piles along the coast in Badung. Such condition happened due to bad weather condition causing drifting trash to invade the coastal areas.

“Well ... the drifting trash spreads almost as long as 12 kilometers from South to North. We have already sent down a thousand janitors to deal with the marine debris. Frankly speaking, we have been overwhelmed to handle such garbage attack,” complained Eka Marthawan, on Tuesday (Jan. 22).

According to him, the rush of drifting trash in early 2019 has become the worst during the history when compared to previous years. The garbage mound averagely reaching 50 tons per day, now reaches 250 tons per day or equivalent to 12 trucks. More seriously, the mounting garbage cannot be immediately taken to the Suwung landfill.

“Just imagine, our trucks should queue up to 7 hours at the Suwung Landfill to dispose of waste, so we have to accommodate it first in the temporary shelter that we have prepared along the coast,” he said.

This bureaucrat from Sempidi, Mengwi, apologized to the public and tourists if the garbage besiege disrupted their activities on the beach. “We apologize for the inconvenience and we will continuously try to clean up the garbage carried by the flow as best we can,” he said.

He acknowledged that drifting trash will occur until next March.

On that account, his agency will alert the team along the coast in Badung. “The Lunar New Year has been around the corner. Certainly the amount of waste will increase.

Last month, the organic waste reached 90 percent while 10 percent consisted of plastic, but now it changes into 80 percent of plastic waste and 20 percent of organic,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Badung Tourism Office, I Made Badra, asked the public and tourists to comply with the instructions from the lifeguard or Balawista.

“There might be a ban on swimming because of bad weather. This is meant to avoid unwanted things,” he said.

He stressed that his office temporarily does not close tourist destinations, especially beaches. The beaches are still opened, however visitors are advised not to carry out any activities in the water. In addition, according to him, the invasion of garbage is worth watching out for. “Well ... visitors must be careful because there is possibility for the presence of the objects that can pierce legs and so on,” he added. (kmb27)

IBP/kmb

The high tide seawater looked to further erode the road which is only an inch in front of the residents’ houses.

Eroded coast of Pebuahan made into plastic waste disposal

NEGARA - Abrasion on the Pebuahan Beach at Banyubiru village, Negara, is now getting worse. Dozens of houses and tatamistyle or lesehan food stalls have been destroyed in recent years. As seen on Tuesday (Jan. 22), the high tide seawater looked to further erode the road which is only an inch in front of the residents’ houses.

IBP/eka

The rain flushing Bali and its surroundings in the past two days made the coast in Badung district filled with drifting trash.

Unfortunately, the Pebuahan Beach having been erode by abrasion now looks shabby because it has been taken advantage to dump plastic waste. Plastic waste appears to be disposed of and piled up on the location of the road with potholes and getting eroded by abrasion.

This condition is very much regretted by a number of visitors to tatami-style food stalls remaining to survive on the coast of Pebuahan. At this time, the area looks increasingly shabby because it is disposed of plastic waste.

Regarding the handling of the Pebuahan abrasion, the Jembrana district government has actually proposed to central government for several times but until now there has been no response. Besides, the Jembrana district government has also installed four geotextile tubes for four months at four abrasion-prone points on Pebuahan Beach, Banyubiru village.

Unfortunately, the installation of the tools is only limited to testing and the district government itself,

from the information, does not make additions and there is no plan to procure the tools.

Division Head of Water Resources at the Jembrana Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUPRPKP), Wayan Widnyana, when asked for his confirmation stated that his agency indeed installed a geotextile tube. “We got it from a sponsor facilitated by the Coastal Agency based in Musi Buleleng. So, there is no plan to add tools. Similarly, there is no plan to procure the tools,” he said.

Installation of the tools is assessed to start showing off positive results. It functions to collect sand to the coast and aims to prevent coastal erosion.

Widnyana said the testing the installation of four geotextile tubes with a length of 20 meters and a width of 2.2 meters from the coastline since a few months ago has caused a lot of sand to get stranded on the coast.

He hoped the installation of geotextile tube tool can be more maximal and can become an alternative solution to dealing with abrasion.

All this time, the beach revetments often take advantage of armor costing expensive and damaging the environment because it requires large stones and is difficult to obtain. But with this tool, he is optimistic to become a solution, especially after seeing the sand stranded, and there is a stretch of sand.

Widnyana also hoped the community will take care of the installed geotextile tube so that it is well maintained and effective. (kmb)

2

Friday, January 25, 2019

Bali News

International

At the beginning of 2019, 50 disaster points identified

GIANYAR - When entering the beginning of 2019, there have been dozens of natural disasters in Gianyar district. Disasters including landslides, fallen trees and floods have occurred in almost across the region. Meanwhile, the Gianyar Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) alerts 24 hours to mitigate disaster.

Based on recapitulation data of the BPBD Gianyar, until January 22 there have been 50 natural disaster points. They are landslides at 5 points, consisting of 3 points in Payangan sub-district, 1 point in Tampaksiring sub-district and 1 point in Gianyar sub-district.

Flood disaster is recorded to happen at 10 points, namely 1 in Ubud sub-district, 4 in Sukawati subdistrict and 5 in Blahbatuh sub-district.

The most common disaster is fallen trees, with a total of 34 points. They are 1 point in Tegallalang sub-district, 2 points in Ubud sub-district, 2 points in Sukawati sub-district, 13 points in Gianyar sub-district and 16 points in Blahbatuh sub-district. Of all the disasters is added with another disaster, namely the victim getting electrocuted. “This is the most when Gianyar was hit by rain accompanied with strong winds some time ago,” said the Head of BPBD Gianyar, A.A. Gde Oka Digjaya, on Wednesday (Jan. 23).

Chief Executive of the BPBD Gianyar revealed that in truth the vulnerability of the disaster in Gianyar belongs to moderate category. But with hundreds of disasters within this year, people are asked to be more vigilant. “I think, if we are all responsive, facing a disaster is not too difficult. However, for a large

scale it certainly cannot be predicted, at least there is anticipation,” he said, The anticipation is meant to maintain cleanliness of the environment and pruning trees. Moreover, in 2019, his agency has returned to obtain a budget for pruning prone trees valued at IDR 80 million. “The handling of fallen-prone trees is more effective in preventing disasters,” he said.

Meanwhile, based on recapitulation of natural disaster data received by the BPBD Gianyar throughout 2018, there were 246 disasters. Of that number, the most reports were about fallen trees namely for 113 incidents, while landslides amounted to 70 incidents, followed by floods at 48 points, including the other disasters recorded to reach 13 incidents such as evacuation of poisoning and accident victim.

Such hundreds of disaster occurred in almost all the sub-districts. As for landslides, it mostly occurred in the northern region, namely Payangan sub-district with 12 incidents, in Tegallalang for 17 incidents and Tampaksiring for 15 incidents. In the meantime, the highest incidence of fallen trees occurred in the Gianyar town, reaching 23 incidents, while flood overflow dominantly occurred in Sukawati sub-district at 17 points and Blahbatuh at 15 points.

Other than landslides, floods and fallen trees throughout 2018, the BPBD Gianyar also handled other disasters. For example, the occurrence of a blocked bridge tunnel, evacuation of falling, drowning and suicide victim totally reaching ten incidents, student poisoning, and accidents. Meanwhile, the impact of the earthquake caused serious injuries to three people as well as damaged 124 residential buildings and 81 units of public facilities. (kmb35)

IBP/Manik Astajaya

Activities

International

Friday, January 25, 2019

15

Australia Day Celebration at Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta Home away from home with the classic Australian favourites

IBP/Dodok

The medical waste are scattered around in Kekeran area.

Medical waste strewn at Kekeran temporary disposal

MANGUPURA - Medical device waste categorized to be hazardous and toxic materials (B3) were found to scatter at the temporary disposal site (TPS) of Kekeran village, Mengwi, on Wednesday (Jan, 23).

The garbage whose owner is not yet known has made the surrounding community anxious.

Surely, there is possibility if the vacuum tubes contain particular virus and endangers the community, especially if they are stepped on.

Headman of Kekeran, Nyoman Suarda, admitted that he is surprised if the temporary disposal site is used to dispose of and collect garbage of the Kekeran village community is suddenly filled with such medical waste.

“Usually, the waste disposed of here is the remaining waste that cannot be processed into organic fertilizer. There is no medical waste, and all the garbage is from the local community’s house. I am surprised how come there is medical waste there,” he said According to him, his authority is still investigating who had thrown medical waste at the temporary disposal site owned by the local village. All this time, village sanitation officers have never picked up and disposed of medical waste.

“I am horrified, if that (medical waste—Ed) is stepped on, what happens? We are worried if they contain HIV virus. Surely, it is very dangerous,” he explained.

In order to anticipate undesirable things, he is going to bury the medical device waste. “To avoid harm, I will follow up later and will have the waste buried,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Badung Health Service, I Gede Putra Suteja, when asked for his confirmation denied if the medical waste disposed of at Kekeran disposal site is from the public health center, auxiliary health center and hospitals belonging to the Badung district government.

So far, he said the handling of medical waste in all health facilities belonging to the Badung district government has been handled by third parties.

“To handle medical waste in health facilities, we have cooperated with third parties. So, the third parties then take care of the waste,” he said.

Suteja admitted not to know where the medical waste is thrown away. Obviously, the health facilities in Badung do not take care of such waste. “Our medical waste has been handled by a third party as we indeed have collaborated with it,” he concluded. (kmb27)

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Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta, part of Marriott International, Inc., launches new food and beverage promotions celebrating Australia Day. Guests can savour classic Australian dishes plus one fan favourite until 31 January 2019 at all of the hotel’s F&B outlets.

The Australian classics are Aussie Meat Pie, Chocolate Lamington, Strawberry Pavlova and two kinds of salad, i.e. Spinach & Avocado Salad and Melon, Lemon & Almond Salad, which start from IDR 50K++ per portion. Fan favourite Best Brew Burger with soft buns and homemade juicy patty is available at IDR 130K++.

Grill & Chill Special Australia Day at The Best Brew will be available on 26 January 2019 at 6.30 PM. Experience the hotel’s signature BBQ dinner with extra varieties of Aussie favourites and quenching beer promotions. It is only IDR 180K++ per person.

“Being a popular hotel of choice for Australians, this promotion reiterates our commitment to make our guests feel at home, even when they are away from home, on this special occasion,” said Sitha Asmarajaya, Director of Operations.

Located on Jalan Benesari in the heart of Legian, Kuta, Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Kuta

features four restaurants, each with its own theme and open to the public. The roadside The Best Brew is an urban beer garden, specialising in the signature Best Brews™ programme, wood-fired pizza and BBQ. The all-day dining The Eatery serves breakfast and international comfort cuisine and local taste for lunch and dinner. Wrapped treats guests with freshly brewed coffee, juices and pastries at the main lobby. Sitting at the top of the hotel is Vertigo, a stylish laid back rooftop with a swimming pool, swim up bar and lounge, perfect for romantic dinner or simply unwind over cocktails.

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

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

16 Pages Number 25 11th year Price: Rp 3.000,-

Friday, January 25, 2019

Kit Harington reveals his Game Of Thrones plans for last ever episode CALIFORNIA - Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington has told Sky News he is considering throwing a party to watch as the epic series comes to an end.

The actor, who has played brooding hero Jon Snow since the first episode of the fantasy drama aired back in 2011, is not giving away any spoilers, but did say the much-anticipated conclusion would leave fans “emotionally torn”.

Speaking about his plans for the finale, he said he liked the idea of a Game Of Thrones party, but that watching in solitude also appeals so he can take it all in.

“I think I’m going to have a party,” he tells Sky News. “Oh, I don’t know yet... I don’t know if I want to watch it on my own quietly just myself, or whether I’ll have a party and watch it with lots of other people.

“I just can’t really decide that

yet.”

Harington, 32, also spoke about being the apparent go-to star for work with mythical creatures, with his new film How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World out soon, and more details about Jon Snow’s true relationship with the Game Of Thrones dragons expected to be revealed in the final series. “I work with dragons a lot, it seems, all different types and sizes and shapes,” he says. “Which is wonderful… I mean, bizarre. I don’t know how that happened in my life.

“I hope it’s not the end of working with dragons.”

Harington was cast in the second How To Train Your Dragon film, voicing the character of Eret, a nemesis to hero Hiccup who later changes his ways.

The latest film is the third to be made, completing the trilogy.

(IBP/net)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Jakarta ex-governor freed from prison after blasphemy sentence

Jakarta’s former governor was released from prison Thursday, nearly two years after his blasphemy conviction fanned fears of religious intolerance in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

IBP/net

Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Michelle Keegan have committed to social media transparency.

Celebs vow to say when they are being paid to promote brands online

LOS ANGELES - Celebrities including Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Michelle Keegan have agreed to change the way they label their social media posts.

IBP/net

What will Jon Snow’s fate be as Game Of Thrones comes to an end?

A total of 16 stars will now clearly say whether they have been paid in exchange for a post, or if an item they are featuring has been gifted or loaned to them.

Others agreeing to the pact include models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley - as well as reality TV stars Mario Falcone and Millie Mackintosh.

Falcone’s Twitter account heavily features a luxury watch brand, with tweets showing him embracing his newborn son while endorsing a 10% discount code. Meanwhile, Mackintosh’s Instagram is packed with mentions of beauty and clothing brands.

Together, the celebrities have tens of millions of followers across platforms including Instagram and Twitter.

The formal commitment follows action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which wants to improve transparency and prevent consumers from being misled by celebrity endorsements.

Such posts can have a powerful impact and boost sales for the companies promoted - with millions of fans exposed to updates about where the celebrities go on holiday, what they wear, and the products they use.

By law, stars are required to dis-

close whether they have been paid to incentivise or endorse a brand.

Several celebrities have been sent warning letters urging them to review their practices.

Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the CMA, said the move sends a “clear message” to influencers, brands and businesses about what is expected from them.

He added: “Influencers can have a huge impact on what their fans decide to buy. People could, quite rightly, feel misled if what they thought was a recommendation from someone they admired turns out to be a marketing ploy. (net)

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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the Indonesian capital’s first non-Muslim governor in half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader -left a prison outside the capital after dawn, his assistant Ima Mahdiah told AFP. Supporters of the Christian ex-governor, who is popularly known as Ahok, gathered outside the prison, chanting and cheering his new found freedom.

“My dad’s a free man! Thank you everyone for the support,” Nicholas Sean, one of his three children, said on Twitter.

The release ends one of the most tumultuous chapters in Indonesian politics in recent memory.

Purnama had been a popular politician who won praise for trying to clean up the traffic-clogged megacity and clamp down on corruption before his imprisonment. But his downfall came quickly after comments he made on the campaign trail during a re-election bid saw him accused of insulting Islam.

The filmed remarks, which went viral online, sparked mass protests in Jakarta, spearheaded by radical groups opposed to a non-Muslim leader and encouraged by his political rivals.

Purnama had urged voters to ignore rivals who cited a Koranic verse stating they should reject nonMuslim leaders, with the then governor saying people

were being manipulated into voting against him.

However, judges ruled the remarks amounted to blasphemy against Islam and he was then sentenced to two years’ jail in May 2017, having lost the election to a Muslim challenger. It was an unusually harsh sentence -- prosecutors had only recommended probation for the now 52-year-old.

- ‘Unjust conviction’ Purnama’s case drew international headlines and a wave of criticism, including from the United Nations, which urged the country of 260 million to revise its decades-old blasphemy law.

“Ahok’s unjust conviction is a reminder that minorities in Indonesia are at risk so long as the abusive blasphemy law remains in place,” said Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch.

“Islamists will use it to bring wrongful prosecutions and even more discriminatory regulations against religious minorities.”

The huge demonstrations calling for Purnama’s jailing fuelled concerns about the growing influence of religious hardliners and that the Southeast Asian country’s much-vaunted tolerant brand of Islam was under threat.

Indonesia’s blasphemy law states that anyone found guilty of “expressing feelings of hostility” towards religion can be jailed for up to five years.

It applies to any of the six officially recognised religions, including Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, but most prosecutions are brought against people accused of blaspheming Islam, which is followed by nearly 90 percent of the population.

Among them was an ethnic Chinese Buddhist woman found guilty in August of insulting Islam for asking her neighbourhood mosque to lower the volume on its sound system. She was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The woman’s comments about the mosque noise triggered riots in 2016 that saw angry Muslim mobs ransack Buddhist temples. (afp)

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

This file photo dated May 9, 2017 shows Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, arriving at a courtroom for his verdict and sentence in his blasphemy trial in Jakarta. Jakarta’s former governor is set to be released from prison on January 24, 2019, nearly two years after he was convicted on blasphemy charges that fanned fears over religious intolerance in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.