Edition Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | International Bali Post

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Pink Floyd star David Gilmour sells guitar collection

NEW YORK - Pink Floyd star David Gilmour has sold his guitar collection for a record amount at auction, raising money to fight against climate change.

The 73-year-old singer and guitarist sold more than 120 instruments for a total of almost £17m.

His 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster alone fetched £3.1m, setting a world auction record for any guitar.

The Black Strat was used on albums including The Wall, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon.

More than 2,000 bidders from 66 countries registered for the sale, which was held at auction house Christie’s in Rockefeller Centre in New York.

The auction house said it delayed the start of the sale by one hour after an “unprecedented number of bidders” turned up, leading a second saleroom to be opened up to accommodate the crowds.

Christie’s said Gilmour’s collection was the most valuable sale of musical instruments in auction history, beating a previous record held by Eric Clapton.

Gilmour was raising funds for ClientEarth, a charity made up of environmental lawyers.

The British musician said the current climate emergency was the “greatest challenge that humanity will ever face” and warned against the “irreversible” effects of climate change.

He said: “The choice really is that simple, and I hope that the sale of these guitars will help ClientEarth in their cause to use the law to bring about real change.

“We need a civilised world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”

ClientEarth’s chief executive James Thornton said the money was a “truly humbling and extraordinary gift” and would be a “phenomenal boost” to the charity’s work. (net)

His guitar collection sold for a total of nearly £17m at auction.

IBP/net

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

IBP/net

Mark Rylance called on the RSC to set a positive example for the future of sponsorship in the arts.

Rylance quits Royal Shakespeare Company over BP sponsorship

LONDON - Oscar-winning British actor Mark Rylance said Friday he was quitting the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) over a sponsorship deal with British energy giant BP. “I feel I must dissociate myself from the RSC, not because it is any less of a theatre company, but because of the company it keeps,” the 59-year-old RSC associate artist wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

The RSC and BP have been in partnership since 2012. The energy firm sponsors £5 ($6.40, 5.60-euro) tickets for 16- to 25-year-olds, in a partnership set to last until 2022.

Rylance has been with the RSC for three decades.

“I do not write this in anger or righteousness,” said Rylance, who won the 2015 best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in “Bridge of Spies”.

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“I am resigning to lend strength to the voices within the RSC who want to be progressive.”

He claimed BP was “arguably destroying the planet”.

“I feel I must resign as I do not wish to be associated with BP any more than I would with an arms dealer.”

The RSC said it was saddened

by Rylance’s move, The Guardian said.

BP and other energy multinationals are under intensifying pressure from campaigners to halt carbon fuel development and focus on renewable forms of energy.

BP did not comment on the actor’s decision, but said it was proud to have provided some 10,000 cheap tickets for young people each year through its sponsorship, said The Guardian. (afp)

AP Photo

Police tape is set up around a match factory after a fire in Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Friday, June 21, 2019. A number of people including children were killed in the fire that swept through a house that doubled as a match factory, a disaster official said Friday.

Police arrest Indonesia business owner after deadly fire

JAKARTA — Indonesian police have arrested the owner and two managers of an unregulated factory in North Sumatra that was engulfed by a fire that killed 30 people, a spokesman said Sunday.

The three suspects could each face five years in prison if found guilty of negligence leading to deaths, said North Sumatra province police spokesman Tatan Dirsan Atmaja.

The business was operating from a house in the North Sumatra district of Langkat and reportedly

made match sticks and lighters.

Its female employees were trapped in Friday’s blaze by a locked door. Five children died in the inferno and only four people escaped, Atmaja said.

A preliminary investigation found the blaze may have started

with a worker testing the “spark wheel” of a lighter and inadvertently igniting other flammable agents including a gas canister, he said.

The suspects — two men and a woman — were arrested in the provincial capital Medan on Saturday.

So far police forensic experts have

identified seven bodies, said Atmaja.

Millions of Indonesians work in unsafe conditions in informal or poorly regulated industries and accidents and fatalities are common.

Dozens died in the collapse of an unlicensed gold mine in North Sulawesi in February, and at least 47 people including underage workers were killed by a blaze at a fireworks factory in a

Jakarta satellite city in October 2017. (ap) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Bali News

International

DLHK finally closes illegal landfill at Mumbul after fire incident

IBP/Asmara

Minimizing chaos of new student admission

Denpasar asked to flexibly apply ministerial regulation DENPASAR - New Student Admission (PPDB) for 2019/2020 academic year referring to the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture No. 51/2018 concerning New Student Admission resulted in chaos in a number of regions and Denpasar is no exception. Moreover, the existence of public schools in this city is inadequate. In addition, the locations are not evenly distributed. On that account, there is a suggestion not to tightly apply the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture. It must be more flexible, so that it can accommodate local potential.

This was conveyed by Chairman of PDI-P Faction in the Denpasar House of Representatives, Kadek Agus Arya Wibawa, after receiving a number of parents that complained about this year’s new student admission issue on Sunday (Jun. 23).

Kadek Agus said the implementation of zoning system this time caused anxiety for prospective students and their parents. This condition happened due to a number of problems that occurred in Denpasar.

Among them, the spread of public schools is uneven and high population density around the school location.

There is no solution for students having high grades in academics but they live far from the school location.

Likewise, the students having outstanding achievements in the field of art are threatened not to get public schools because of the limited quota at each school.

This solution must be immediately sought and strategic policy must be taken by the mayor immediately because the situation and condition of each region

related to this system is not the same. Moreover, Denpasar has been building a vision as cultured-city automatically the people has the characteristics to boost their children from the beginning in the art field in addition to academics, said this PDI-P politician from South Denpasar.

He stated the municipal government too strictly implemented the zoning system based on the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture. “Do not be too strict and theoretical in applying the rules, and it must be adjusted to reality in society. Immediately take strategic policies related to this matter. Do not let the community be like in other regions making a demonstration just because of the problem of new student admission, he said.

Previously, the Mayor of Denpasar IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra met on the sidelines of receiving a visit from the Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya at Badung Market, admitted there is no policy to delay the implementation of the PPDB with zoning system. Moreover, the chaos occurred in Denpasar is different from that of other regions in Indonesia.

Mayor Rai Mantra stated that condition of PPDB had gone well. However, he recognized it was a bit crowded on the taking of tokens. This happened because of the matter of queuing. People did not yet know about the mechanism for taking tokens, so that they broke out on the first day.

“Let’s see first. We saw worse thing happening in Magelang. It implemented such rules by trail and errors at some registered schools. To be noted, this regulation has not yet been tested, later on we will see the weaknesses and will give advice to central government,” he said. (kmb12)

MANGUPURA - Regarding the existence of illegal landfill revealed due to fire incident some time ago, the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) immediately closed the area. Other than closing, on Friday (Jun. 21) the DLHK team also conducted a site inspection and provided coaching for the owner of the illegal landfill located on Hilton Hill, Mumbul hamlet, Benoa, South Kuta.

When confirmed, Head of DLHK Badung, Putu Eka Merthawan, said the Environmental Detective Team of the agency accompanied by headman of Benoa, hamlet chief of Mumbul immediately provided guidance for the landowner I Wayan Kapur from Mumbul hamlet. Location of the illegal landfill, said Eka, covered an area of 2,800 square meters having been operating since three years ago. “Last Friday, the team had been deployed to come down to the location. The landowner, hamlet chief and headman already signed an agreement to close the area.

Besides, the landowner promised not to reopen the illegal landfill,” he said on Sunday (Jun. 23).

He emphasized if similar waste disposal activities will be found at the location, a firm action will be taken. In other words, if he returns to violate or keep throwing garbage at the location, the violation will be

Activities

International

processed according to Law No. 18/2008 and Law No. 32/2008. Additionally, if later on a fire breaks out and causes disruption to others, the landowner must be responsible.

He said the reason for the landowner that did not dispose of garbage to Suwung Landfill is the community paid the services at low price. Moreover, the hamlet chief expected if the landowner indeed is not able to handle or dispose of the garbage to Suwung Landfill because of low fees it should be given to others to handle.

In the future, he will continuously supervise the existence of illegal landfill in South Kuta. He admitted the existence of illegal landfill in South Kuta continues to mushroom. “Before the Galungan holidays, three to four illegal landfills will be closed because of approaching rainy season. During rainy season, it will certainly result in unpleasant odors,” he said.

We will continue to provide legal pressure so as not to have a severe impact. If people violate the law, they will certainly face the law with a maximal punishment of 5 years and a fine of IDR 3 billion.

“In this case, we from DLHK are no longer permissive in dealing with the environment. Certainly, we will still go through the process according to the procedure,” he concluded. (kmb23)

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

15

MOXY HOTELS AND NYC TATTOO ARTIST MEGAN MASSACRE LEAVE THEIR MARK THROUGH ART-INSPIRED TRAVELING TATTOO STUDIO

Moxy Hotels has joined forces with tattoo goddess Megan Massacre, to offer complimentary tattoos inspired by the brand’s Blank Canvas art program. Moxy’s pop-up tattoo studios kicked off this past spring at the official opening party for Moxy Washington, D.C, giving guests the opportunity to celebrate emerging artists from the program in a permanent way.

Those still hoping to get inked by Massacre are in luck – the famed New York City tattoo artist will continue to tattoo images inspired by artists from the program at Moxy Chattanooga in Tennessee on June 25, and at Moxy Atlanta Midtown this fall, two of the brand’s newest hotels.

Moxy’s Blank Canvas initiative invites innovative painters, photographers, film-makers, sculptors, illustrators and graffiti artists to submit unique works of art for the chance to be one of the showcased artists at new Moxy Hotels.

Selected works become the cornerstone of a permanent contemporary, emerging art collection at each Moxy hotel. Owner of New York-based studio Grit N Glory, Massacre will put her own vibrant spin on Moxy’s Blank Canvas artists’ works, offering guests original tattoo designs available exclusively at Moxy hotels.

“Moxy’s Blank Canvas program embodies a fun and playful approach to curating art, and similar to the tattoos I create, it’s an expression of individuality that inspires creativity,” said Megan Massacre, Owner of New York-based studio Grit N Glory.

Massacre tattooed guests during Moxy Washington, D.C. Downtown’s opening party, creating original designs inspired by artist Rahul Jha. Jha’s Blank Canvas piece, on display at the D.C. hotel, provides an unexpected lens on the Dada art movement and showcases an eagle, D.C.’s map and objects including Jenga blocks, pools and lemon wedges that play into the Dada art aesthetic and Moxy’s fun atmosphere. Hailing from Kolkata, India, the multi-talented artist started his career as a mechanical engineer and then followed his true passion to become an artist.

On June 25 at Moxy Chattanooga in Tennessee, Massacre will interpret the original artwork created by the hotel’s Blank Canvas artist Petra Braun. After starting

with passionate illustrations in her schoolbooks, Austria-based Braun worked as a graphic designer, before going to study at the University of Art and Design in Linz, where she honed her painting and graphics skills. Highly inspired by nature, her art reflects the playful, peaceful, calm and balanced nature of nature itself.

“Moxy Hotels are a playground for travelers and locals alike to engage in spontaneous experiences that are bold and culturally captivating,” said Toni Stoeckl, Vice President, Distinctive Select Brands, Marriott International.

“Through our collaboration with Megan Massacre, we’re celebrating our Blank Canvas artists in true Moxy fashion – by transforming our walls into permanent wearable art for guests.”

Moxy Hotels works with global creator collaboration platform Talenthouse to call on multi-media artists from around the world to submit contemporary works for the Blank Canvas program that encapsulate the unexpected, fun, spirited attitude that Moxy Hotels embodies and celebrates. Artists are

invited to collaborate with Moxy on a creative brief to submit original artwork. Selected works become fixtures in the art collection at each participating hotel. Participating Moxy hotels also hosts a Masterclass Series, which allows artists to school guests and Marriott Bonvoy members on their craft in hands-on workshops.

Moxy Atlanta Midtown, the third location for Megan Massacre’s tattoo pop-up, is currently in the process of looking for its Blank Canvas Artist-in-Residence. The hotel, which is located right on Atlanta’s Art Walk, is offering one artist the opportunity to create artwork that will become ingrained in Midtown Atlanta’s vibrant culture. Home to the largest concentration of cultural venues in the southeast and attracting more than 6 million visitors each year, Midtown Atlanta’s art scene isn’t confined to gallery walls – it spills out into the streets and sidewalks.

Artists are being invited to design and paint mural artwork for an outdoor space at the hotel, inspired

by Midtown’s high-energy arts

hub and Moxy’s cheeky ‘Play On’ mentality. As the first installation along the Art Walk, the piece will set the tone for future installations along the art corridor. Envisioned as a unique pedestrian experience, the Art Walk links culture and community to transit within a creative space that fosters human connection and interaction at the

street level.

So far Moxy has welcomed everything from a live art installation featuring a giant pink teddy bear, to massive video walls, to locallyinspired murals into its Moxy hotels. Plus, participating Moxy hotels host a Masterclass Series for artists to students on their craft in a hands-on workshop.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Science

International

‘Sneezing’ plants may spread pathogens to their neighbors

IBP/net

When two bats are together, their brain activity falls into lockstep, a synchrony that may help coordinate some social behaviors, a study finds.

NEXT time you pass a wheat field on a dewy morning, you might want to say “gesundheit.”

That’s because some sick plants can “sneeze” — shooting out tiny water droplets laden with pathogens, scientists report June 19 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. In wheat plants infected with the fungus Puccinia triticina, coalescing dew droplets flew away from the leaves they were on and carried fungal spores with them, experiments showed. The pathogen, which causes a destructive disease known as leaf rust, might then be able to infect other wheat plants.

The flinging effect, which can happen on healthy plants too, is the result of a quirk of fluid dynamics: When two water drops unite, surface tension is released and converted into kinetic energy that can hurl the fluid away.

It’s a “surface tension catapult,” says mechanical engineer Jona-

Chinese tourist visits to Bali decline 29 percent

than Boreyko of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The effect occurs only on extremely water-repellent, or superhydrophobic, surfaces, like the leaves of certain plants, including wheat.

The drops can jump a few millimeters — high enough to escape the layer of still air that surrounds each leaf, so that a gentle breeze could carry the water and spores to other plants, Boreyko and colleagues report. The catapulting effect was known to occur on other superhydrophobic surfaces, but this is the first time it’s been suggested that it helps transmit disease.

Understanding how leaf rust spreads could be important for controlling it. If “sneezing” turns out to be an important source of transmission, plants could be sprayed with a coating to make them no longer superhydrophobic, for example, Boreyko says. (net)

Mice and bats’ brains sync up as they interact with their own kind

WHEN animals are together, their brain activity aligns. These simpatico signals, described in bats and mice, bring scientists closer to understanding brains as they normally exist — enmeshed in complex social situations.

Researchers know that neural synchrony emerges in people who are talking, taking a class together and even watching the same movie. But scientists tend to study human brains in highly constrained scenarios, in part because it’s technologically difficult to capture brain activity as people experience rich social interactions. Now two studies published June 20 in Cell offer more details about how synced brains might influence social behavior.

In one study, researchers monitored a pair of Egyptian fruit bats in a dark chamber for more than an hour. Neural implants recorded brain activity as the bats groomed themselves, fought, rested and performed other behaviors.

The brain activity of the two bats was highly co-

ordinated. When one bat’s neural activity oscillated in a fast rhythm, for example, the other bat’s brain was likely to do the same thing. This coordination continued even when the bats weren’t directly interacting with each other, the team found. But when the bats were separated into two chambers in the same room, this correlated activity fell away, suggesting that the bats had to be sharing the same social context for their brains to link up.

A similar result came from a study in mice. As with the bats, when two mice were separated, their brain activity was no longer coupled, researchers report.

This neural synchrony might underpin some social behaviors, such as grooming each other or fighting. Just before bats interacted, their brain activity became more coordinated. Brain synchrony also appeared to be a factor in contests of dominance between mice. A pushier mouse’s behavior was more likely to spark brain coordination than a meeker mouse’s actions, researchers found. (net)

Bali News

International

IBP/net

Disease could spread when sick wheat plants send dewdrops flying, an effect related to the release of merging drops’ surface tension.

DENPASAR — Chinese tourist visits to Bali in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 29 percent. Primarily, it remains to be affected by the closure of shops of the Chinese mafia network in Bali that carried out unfair business practices. Nevertheless, this condition is believed to be the beginning to attract more qualified Chinese tourists.

“For us, we are now looking for qualified tourists,” said the Head of the Bali Tourism Office, AA Gede Yuniartha Putra, when receiving a visit of the Indonesian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing, at the office of Bali Tourism Board, on Friday (Jun. 21).

Yuniartha supported BTB’s efforts to implement a sales mission to Beijing next July. Moreover, Beijing is the center of government in China. Bali tourism stakeholders can meet local tourism stakeholders as well as their government.

It is considered positive to further promote Bali tourism. On the other hand, his office would also propose that Meeting, Incentive, Convention, Exhibition (MICE) events could be held more frequently on the Island of the Gods.

“For MICE event, everything will move ranging from transportation, hotels to destinations. On that account, if possible, it will be better to establish the Bali Convention Bureau,” he explained.

The Indonesian Ambassador to China in Beijing, Djauhari Oratmangun, stated that Bali is actually quite well known in China. A small survey conducted by the Indonesian Embassy indicates that people of the bamboo curtain country even averagely have an extraordinary desire to visit Bali. The existence of trade war between the United States and China can be an opportunity for the Island of the Gods because Chinese government is now issuing a travel warning to the superpower country.

“This is a great opportunity because tourists traveling to the United States are on average belonging to mid class community and upwards.

The outbound is estimated to reach 180 million,” he said.

According to Djauhari, the cooperation needs to be established between Bali and Indonesia with cities in China through communication strategies, including connectivity via direct flights that must be further encouraged. In addition, he will also approach the media, especially the People’s Daily newspaper in China.

Similarly, the embassy will also hold an article writing competition for influencers on social media about Indonesian tourism and IndonesianChinese relations, especially Bali, in the context of tourism.

“I will select the winners later.

Besides, I will also coordinate and work with the regional government

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Hobbies become a business

BANGLI — Selling birds have become a side business having been carried out by the Headman of Kubu, Arya Wibowo. Unmitigatedly, from this side business, this father of three children can reap profits of up to hundreds of millions of rupiahs per month.

IBP/kmb

Head of the Bali Tourism Office, AA Gede Yuniartha Putra. to send the winners to Bali,” he explained.

By visiting Bali, continued Djauhari, influencers in China can see firsthand the potential and beauty of Indonesia. After that, they can write it into their language so that their followers can understand it. Another program is the embassy will help hold roadshow in four or five cities in China in the second semester of next year as well as hold a culinary week in collaboration with the hotel chains in China. After becoming a resource person at Fintech, Djauhari also wanted to hold a blockchain summit in Bali and make Bali a digitalization city.

“We are transitioning from the average market to the upper level market. Travelers will reduce in terms of quantity but having high expenditure. This is the market that we are trying to catch. The middle class in China is growing so amazingly so the outbound increase is very significant,” he concluded.

Arya claimed to have started the side business of selling birds since 2009. It started from his hobby of raising birds since he was in elementary school. He raised all kinds of birds when he was a child. Just starting in 2009, he really liked red anis. Initially, he was able to buy red anis up to 11 heads. Since considered to have too many birds, this Warmadewa University graduate then thought of selling the birds through social media.

Since he considered it profitable, he was then serious about living it as a side business in the mid of his busy activities as a headman. At present, he has at least 54 heads of red anis at his home.

Arya added that red anis had been one of the types of birds that are quite attractive to the public, especially bird lovers.

The birds frequently included in the competition have a fairly high selling price. A red anis bird can be sold starting from IDR 1 million to hundreds of millions.

“Assessment criteria of red anis are in terms of sound, style and appearance. Red anis is the only bird that can be jazzed. In the competition, this condition is popular,” he explained.

All this time, many pet birds are bought by bird lovers in Bali and outside Bali. Marketing is only done through social media. Within a month, he can sell from 5 to 20 red anis birds.

“A number of people are looking for red anis this month. My turnover can reach hundreds of millions of rupiahs per month.

For normal months, my turnover can maximally reach IDR 30 million per month,” said this native to Kubu.

As a side business, the treatment of his red anis is usually carried out among his free time twice a week. Aside from selling birds, the man who served as Headman of the Kubu has been quite actively participating in animal conservation efforts since 2013. He claimed to routinely donate his red anis to be released to nature, along with the Indonesian bird conservation community. (kmb40)

Emotional connection

Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), IB Agung Partha Adnyana, said that tourism cannot be just for the business of buying and selling. But there must be an emotional connection established.

“Don’t think that Chinese people know Bali. Maybe it’s very small.

Chinese people need knowledge products to drive more tourists to come to Bali,” he said.

A Chinese native, Zuo Shuai, considered Bali to be famous for its beautiful scenery, especially the sea and sunset. Then, Balinese culture inspired by Hinduism is also a special attraction. This is what distinguishes it from other tourist destinations. It is supported by good accommodation facilities plus the atmosphere of Bali is very relaxed and there are no too high buildings.

“We can use motorbikes if we want to go anywhere. There are many restaurants where we can enjoy Balinese cuisines. Of course, here there are also many shopping places, clubs, and at night we can sit on the beach,” he explained. (kmb32)

Arya Wibowo

IBP/kmb40

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Bali News

International

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

International

Tiki mask still demanded by international markets

BANGLI — A number of handicraft products made by Bangli artisans have been successfully penetrating the export market. One of them is a bamboo root handicraft product made by Kadek Sudanco. Within a month, the demand for this kind of products reaches hundreds of pieces.

Sudanco revealed that his handicraft products which are currently still in demand by foreign markets is tiki mask. The products made from bamboo roots are in demand because they have a unique design. Usually, this product is used as a wall decoration.

In the international market, many tiki mask orders come from Britain, Germany and the United States. The sizes of order vary starting from 15 centimeters to 16 centimeters. In once order, customer may ask for hundreds of pieces of bamboo root crafts.

“For the current seasons, the total order reaches 500 pieces,” he

said on Sunday (Jun. 23).

Some of the orders he received directly through WhatsApp and some others were directly placed by consumers to his arts hop.

“It has been in demand from the past. Usually the products having been purchased will be resold in their country,” he said.

In addition to tiki masks, the handicraft products being in demand are bamboo root kulkul or split drum. This product is in demand because of its unique design and loud sound.

To make handicraft products, the man who opened the art shop in the Susut area claimed to get bamboo root supply from around Bangli like Penglipuran, Kubu, to several other villages. Sudanco admitted to have difficulty in obtaining raw materials of large bamboo roots. “Meanwhile, the small- and medium-sized materials are still adequate, so that I can still get them,” he said. (kmb40)

IBP/kmb

WBF Rock Music Festival’s winners take a picture together after the trophy submission on Thursday night (Jun. 20).

WBF Rock Music Festival appreciates to Bali Rock Music activists

MANGUPURA — In the series of the 9th WBF Anniversary, the 12th Anniversary of Billabong FO Anniversary, and expression of gratitude for the opening of Quicksilver FO, a rock band audition was held on Thursday (Jun. 20). Located in front of the WBF, the activity featuring the theme ‘WBF Rock Music Festival’ was attended by nine local bands as well as all the employees under the aegis of Panugrahan Group.

According to the Head of the Competition Committee, I Gusti Ayu Swasmini, the event is a medium to give appreciation to Balinese rock musicians. Besides, it is also meant to foster the talents of local Balinese

rock bands that deserve to be appreciated.

Through the activity, he hoped the local millennial generation can be more developed. Thus, her company is very supportive of the activities to foster creativity, especially that of young people. She explained this series of anniversary events are not only filled with music festival, but also entertainment in the form of modern dance and Balinese dance. In the future, through such activities, she hoped the WBF store can continuously grow and become increasingly well known among the public.

Winners of the event came respectively to Glorious Band Group in the first place, Mr. Band Group in the second place and, Sweet Potatoes Band in third place.

Meanwhile, the Favorite winner was won by Bring Back the Hero Band. (kmb23)

IBP/kmb

A number of handicraft products made by Bangli artisans have been successfully penetrating the export market.

ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP

This picture taken on June 22, 2019 shows artwork depicting protesters and messages in support of protesters opposed to a China extradition law posted on the “Lennon Wall” outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong. Viral artwork pummelling city leaders, clever word plays and Cantonese cursing that would make a sailor blush -- Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of satire during their huge anti-government protests.

Memes, cartoons and caustic Cantonese: the language of Hong Kong’s protests

HONG KONG - Viral artwork pummelling city leaders, clever word plays and Cantonese cursing that would make a sailor blush -- Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of satire during their huge anti-government protests.

Anger has punctuated much of the historic rallies roiling Hong Kong in the last two weeks as the public vents huge opposition to an attempted China extradition law and frustrations over years of sliding freedoms.

But humour has never been far away.

The legions of tech-savvy youngsters never miss an opportunity to invent new chants, memes, banners and slogans that often turn the criticism against the movement on its head.

Outside the city’s parliament, a shrine has sprung up for the finance hub’s beleaguered pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam. A black banner underneath reads: “Suspend your mother”.

The first word is a reference to protester demands that the extradition bill be permanently taken off the table, not just suspended as the government has now done.

But the last two words reference a favourite local insult: “F*** your mother”.

Cantonese is an uproariously caustic language with misogynistic insults to an opponent’s mother thrown around during even fairly pedestrian disagreements.

But after police were filmed shouting “Reporter, your mother!” to journalists -- questioning their credentials -- during clashes with protesters earlier in the month, demonstrators seized on the phrase, immortalising it in WhatsApp stickers, banners and printing it on t-shirts.

It was also a way to skewer Lam,

who gave an interview where she likened herself to an exasperated mother trying not to give into every demand from the childlike protesters.

- Cantonese c-word -

An even more irreverent rallying cry protesters have adopted with relish -- and plastered on the outside walls of the city’s legislature -- is the phrase “freedom hai”.

The word “hai” is arguably the rudest of what is dubbed “the five great Cantonese profanities” and refers to female genitalia.

Police were also filmed yelling an insult at demonstrators that sounded like “freedom hai”, and demonstrators reclaimed the insult, adopting it with pride.

Protester Kit-ying, 25, said the slogan was a “refusal to be oppressed”.

“Especially as a woman, if you call us that, we will turn it into our slogan and transform it from its passive role into an active one,” she told AFP. Not all the puns are derisive.

One of the most popular chants has been “fan sung jung” which literally translates to “against being sent to China”.

But “sung jung” is also a homophone for seeing off a dead relative at a funeral, encapsulating fears that the extradition law will be the death of their city.

Yuen Chan, a journalism lecturer at London’s City University, says Hong Kong’s history as a trading hub has birthed a vernacular that absorbs influences “in endless creative and sometimes irreverent ways”.

“In recent years, online culture and increasing interest and pride in local culture as created an even more fertile environment for Cantonese Kongish wordplay and satire,” she added. (afp)

13

Turkey opposition deals blow to Erdogan in Istanbul win

ISTANBUL - Turkey’s opposition revelled Monday in a landslide win in Istanbul’s rerun mayoral vote -- a blow for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that even some pro-government media called a victory for democracy.

Ekrem Imamoglu, a little-known district mayor at the start of the year, won the election by more than 777,000 votes, up from just 13,000 in the first election in March, which was annulled over controversial claims of fraud.

It was a rare chance to celebrate for the opposition after 25 years of rule by Islamic conservatives in Istanbul.

And it was a rare blow to Erdogan, who has held national power since 2003.

In the traditionally left-wing neighbourhood of Besiktas, thousands partied late into night, clogging the streets, waving beers and Turkish flags.

“It wasn’t right to repeat this election, but the fact that it was won with such a gap is even better for Istanbul,” said 45-year-old Servan Soydan as he walked his dog on Monday.

There was less jubilation in the media, which has been almost entirely put under the thumb of the government in recent years.

“Istanbul has voted,” read the subdued headline of the Yeni Safak newspaper.

The fiercely pro-government Sabah also downplayed Imamoglu’s success but sought a slightly

more positive spin, saying: “Democracy Wins”.

- Victim status -

Many analysts say the decision to call a re-run of the election was a massive miscalculation by the ruling party, turning Imamoglu into a victim and a household name.

“The Turkish nation has always defended and supported victims. I believe it is because they couldn’t explain why there was a cancellation that they lost this way, with this big punishment,” said Istanbulite Naziye Durmus on Monday.

Imamoglu’s “massive victory is a lesson in democracy: people want their rights respected,” tweeted the former EU ambassador to Turkey Marc Pierini, now with the Carnegie Europe think tank.

Imamoglu took 54 percent of the vote against the ruling party’s candidate Binali Yildirim, a former prime minister.

At a huge rally in his stronghold in western Istanbul late Sunday, Imamoglu said: “It was not a single group or party, but the whole of Istanbul and Turkey that won this election.”

Erdogan conceded defeat on Twitter, saying simply: “I congratulate Ekrem Imamoglu who has won the election based on preliminary results.”

The president’s party remains the most popular nationwide, but has been hurt lately by slowing growth and rising prices.

It also lost control of the capital Ankara at the local elections in March. (afp)

GURCAN OZTURK / AFP

Istanbul citizens celebrate after the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate won Istanbul’s mayoral re-run elections, at Besiktas on June 23, 2019.

12

International

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

BUSINESS

The move Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department could complicate talks next week between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, aimed at de-escalating a trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.

The five blacklisted organizations placed on the so-called Entity List includes supercomputer maker Sugon, which is heavily dependent on U.S. suppliers including chipmakers Intel, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

The other four are the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing

Technology and three Sugon affiliates. The Commerce Department called their activities “contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Sugon and the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute, which the U.S. said is owned by a Chinese army research institute, are involved in China’s push to develop next-generation “exascale” high performance computing to assist with military modernization.

The technology involved supports such military-related tasks as running nuclear simulations, calculating missile trajectories and hypersonic algorithms, said Paul Triolo, technology analyst with the global risk-assessing Eurasia Group.

“This is all about the race to exascale computing, which China has designated as a major priority,” he said, adding that companies such as Sugon have received major government backing.

Of particular concern to China hawks in the Trump administra-

AP Photo/Andy Wong

In this May 29, 2019 file photo, a man walks past a Huawei retail store in Beijing. On Friday, June 21, 2019, the United States blacklisted five Chinese organizations, calling them national security threats and cutting them off from critical U.S. technology. In May, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted telecommunications giant Huawei, heightening tensions with Beijing.

tion, Triolo added, is Sugon’s move to develop a next-generation processor of its own. It licensed one generation of AMD technology as part of a 2016 joint venture in which a Sugon subsidiary has an ownership stake.

An AMD spokesperson said the company was reviewing the order “to determine next steps related to our joint ventures.”

In recent years, U.S. and Chinese companies have been alternating as leading producers of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

Sugon had 63 of the top 500 in the most recent rankings .

The blacklist effectively bars U.S. firms from selling technology to the Chinese organizations without government approval.

Last month, Commerce last month added telecommunications giant Huawei to it, heightening tensions with Beijing .

This is not the first time the U.S. has placed on the Entity List a Chinese organization involved in supercomputer development with military uses. In 2015 it added China’s National University of Defense Technology to the Entity List.

“The U.S. is gradually squeezing off access to US technology for major elements of China’s next generation supercomputing,” said Triolo. The long-running campaign isn’t directly related to Trump’s current trade war with China.

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is preparing to target another $300 billion, extending the import taxes to virtually everything China ships to the United States. China has retaliated with tariffs on U.S. products.

Talks to resolve the dispute broke off last month. But Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet next week at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, to get the negotiations back on track.

“Adding more Chinese companies to the U.S. bad guys list may be seen as a way to ramp up the pressure on China,” said Amanda DeBusk, a partner at Dechert LLP and the former Commerce Department assistant secretary for export enforcement. “However, the Chinese may see this as ill-timed bullying. They cannot be seen as making concessions to the United States, so this may have the effect of hurting any chances for trade agreement.”

The administration appeared to be sending mixed signals ahead of the summit.

In what looked like a goodwill gesture to Beijing, Vice President Mike Pence postponed a speech planned for Monday at a Washington think tank at which he was expected to criticize China’s communist regime.

Asia specialist Tami Overby, senior director at the McLarty Associates consultancy, said that “it seems odd” that the Trump administration would delay Pence’s speech and then turn around and expand its tech blacklist. (ap)

Angola bounces back after slump in fuel production

Angola is bouncing back after its fuel production slumped last year to a decade low as President Joao Lourenco steers reforms vital to the country’s economy and wins approval from oil majors.

“It is a new era. I see a growing interest from investors,” says Guido Brusco, vice-president for subSaharan Africa of Italian giant ENI. “We should come back to 2012/2013 to see the same level of interest” as that now being shown

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

5

Future of Batuan Style looking bright

US blacklists 5 Chinese groups working in supercomputing WASHINGTON — The United States is blacklisting five Chinese organizations involved in supercomputing with military-related applications, citing national security as justification for denying its Asian geopolitical rival access to critical U.S. technology.

Bali News

International

by investors, Brusco told AFP on the sidelines of a conference earlier this month in Luanda.

France’s Total, the premier operator in Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria with output of 650,000 barrels per day, confirms as much.

“There is a business environment which could lead us soon to sign several agreements,” says a Total spokesperson. “A new page of Angola’s petrol industry is clearly

opening.”

The arrival of Lourenco, who succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ruled for 36 years, has marked a radical step for the OPEC-member country.

When Lourenco took office oil prices were struggling to come back from a slump going back to 2014 but he has launched a string of initiatives in order to tackle falling production.

With oil Angola’s primary re-

source, that was an overriding priority given that production of “black gold” last year slid just below 1.5 million bpd, its lowest level for 10 years -- the consequence of low prices and a freezing of new projects.

“We were in an environment of low prices and firms found it difficult to get responses from (state producer) Sonangol to advance dossiers,” an oil sector source who requested anonymity told AFP.

Before embarking on reforms Lourenco first spent several months consulting the industry to pinpoint means of relaunching activity.

A series of policies, including tax perks, were introduced, enshrined in several presidential decrees which, Brusco says, have managed to “improve the investment climate.”

Brusco says he served on a committee to deliver proposals to that effect “and the government endorsed those proposals.”(afp)

Children’s drawing exhibiting at Gallery Oka Kartini

The village of Batuan has been a center of art in Bali for at least 1000 years and continues to be home to a remarkable number of talented artists practicing unique art practices including dance, sculptor and painting. The painting style for which Batuan has gained world renown, has undergone slight changes over time in astoundingly creative ways yet also maintains certain distinct characteristics including the technical method with which they are created.

While this style requires great skill, patience and feeling the people of Batuan have continued to practice this distinctive style over countless generations. In the early part of the 20th century this style underwent a kind of renaissance with brighter colors and a wider range of subjects being depicted in these paintings. The popularity of this style thrived for many decades, providing artists with a means of earning a living, thanks to the growing tourism industry.

Over time however, as the market demand diminished, one by one these painters turned to other means of earning a living, leaving painting behind. By 2012, out of the 70 or so painters who had been diligently working in the traditional Batuan style, only about two dozen were still active. In an effort to ensure that this precious art form would continue into the future, an exhibition was held at Museum Batuan, followed by several more in other important art venues including Arma Museum, the Denpasar Art Center and others.

The name Baturulangun was taken from an ancient document, which recounts the story of the people of Batuan beseeching their king for respite from the rice tax and is the earliest known reference to an artist guild in Bali. The word “Baturulangan” itself can be translated as “offering art” or “art offering“ and indicates the spirit in which art work was being created up until the very recent past and in many cases continues to be today.

The head of Batuan village provided a space and the older painters provided the skills, time and attention needed to transmit the methods and nurture a love for this way of painting. The first year of operation, they invited elementary aged school kids to come and learn to learn them every Sunday.

However with each passing week there were less and less kids finding the patience to remain focused on the elaborate process. So, the next year, they teamed up with local schools to provided classes that would be graded, along with the extra Sunday classes.

In October 2018, the Indonesian government officially recognized the art of Batuan as a National Intangible Heritage, and although the young children may not understand the implications of this, it certainly indicates to them that it is not just their teachers who have some strange obsession with Batuan style painting, but that the painstaking process of learning to paint in this style has wider reaching value.

The truly astounding talent that emerges from these young children in a very short time is a testament to the diligence of their teachers but also to something about the people of Batuan that seems to bring forth art works of exceptional power, beauty and meaning.

These youngsters are trained in making the basic shapes used in traditional Batuan ornamentation as well as the line, shading, and coloring technics specific to this style, and although the kids are indeed exposed to extremely masterful art works by their elders, they are entirely free to come up with their own compositions, subjects and narratives in their works.

It seems unlikely that these works could have come from such young children and yet their works bear witness to this unlikely reality. Even a casual glance at these

art works reveals their startling mastery, depth of feeling, intuitive understanding of compositions, remarkably complex conceptual visions and sincere appreciation for the craft itself.

While all children have an innate sense of creativity, and many show dexterity as well, there seems to be little doubt that the children of Batuan carry within them something

of their ancestral heritage that expresses itself in these sometimes mysterious, often humorous, and always refined and powerful works.

Small artworks by the children who study drawing with Baturulangung are currently on display at Oka Kartini Gallery on Jalan Raya Ubud. And will remain in display until July 20th, 2019. (kmb)

6

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

W

RLD

International

International

Farm fights stigma in Russia for people with learning disabilities

ALEKSINO - On a warm sunny day, 37-yearold Vika walked through a farmyard carrying a compost bin, saying to AFP with pride: “This is my job.”

She’s one of 18 Russians with learning disabilities to live and work on the Svetlana farm which has a dairy and bakery where residents do daily chores and therapy.

It’s a rare example in Russia of people with special needs being integrated into the local community, as most remain hidden from view in outdated state institutions left over from Soviet times.

The farm opened more than 25 years ago in a village, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from Russia’s second city, Saint Petersburg.

It is part of an international residential communities movement founded by an Austrian paediatrician in 1939.

The Camphill Movement provides educational and employment support for adults with learning disabilities and other special needs around the world.

At Svetlana, residents with various types of learning disabilities including Down syndrome lead an outdoorsy life on the farm, with help from five teachers and three volunteers.

In sharp contrast to conditions in state-run homes, they live together in spacious houses, where they have separate bedrooms and share living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens.

- ‘Integrate into ordinary life’ -

Most Svetlana residents are sent to live on the farm for long periods by their families or guardians and contribute towards their costs which are mostly met by charity and state donations.

For Vika, the farm has been home for the last 19 years during which time she has “changed a lot”, director Yelena Aleneva, 51, said.

“She has become an independent person,” she told AFP. “The goal of the farm is to integrate the residents into ordinary life as much as possible,” she added.

Vika and her fellow farm hands work in the morning

Powerful Indonesian quake felt in Australia

before moving on to their hobbies.

On the day AFP visited, art therapy teacher Irina Andreyeva was rehearsing a play with them based on the French classic “The Little Prince” that included dance, music and their drawings.

Watching Natasha, a young girl with Down syndrome, dance in the show, Andreyeva said: “They are very talented, each in their own way.”

- Soviet-era isolation -

According to official figures, 160,000 people with learning difficulties still live in state institutions in Russia that have a dire reputation.

Under communism, authorities encouraged isolating people with learning disabilities, who were considered unfit for work, to such places.

Living conditions in the facilities sharply deteriorated during the economic crisis following the fall of the USSR in 1990.

Despite significant improvements since then, they continue to be a matter of concern for human rights activists.

In 2015, a fire killed 23 mostly elderly patients at a residential home in southwest Russia. Two years earlier, two other fires in the same type of institution killed almost 80 people. Standard state residential centres have hundreds of people crammed together in dormitories, often under-supervised and with limited opportunities to train for employment, according to campaigners for reforms and rights groups.

“For a child with learning disabilities, it is a difficult scenario,” Anna Klepikova, an anthropologist at Saint Petersburg’s European University, told AFP. “In Russia, there is practically no chance of socialisation after someone reaches 18 years of age,” she said.

She noted however “real trends towards Russian society becoming more humane” towards those with learning disabilities.

Programmes to help people integrate are appearing, she said.

“But these only cater for the needs of a few dozen people.” (afp)

Olga MALTSEVA / AFP

Natasha, 21, who has Down syndrome, serves lunch to residents of the Svetlana farm outside the settlement of Aleksino, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) from Saint Petersburg, on May 18, 2019. At Svetlana, 18 Russians with various types of learning disabilities including Down syndrome lead an outdoorsy life on the farm, with help from five teachers and three volunteers.

IBP/net

A woman boarded an Air Canada flight earlier this month, fell asleep after takeoff and woke up alone in a dark, parked plane, apparently forgotten about by ground staff.

Air Canada passenger falls asleep on plane, wakes up alone MONTREAL - A woman boarded an Air Canada flight earlier this month, fell asleep after takeoff and woke up alone in a dark, parked plane, apparently forgotten about by ground staff.

Tiffani Adams’s story was posted by a friend on Air Canada’s Facebook page, drawing incredulous reactions from readers and a request for details from the airline.

According to the post, Adams was flying from Quebec to Toronto Pearson International Airport when she fell asleep, aided by the fact that she’d ended up with a whole row of seats to herself.

She woke up in “pitch black,” with the plane having landed and apparently been towed away from the airport, after passengers and crew had disembarked.

“I think I’m having a bad dream (because) like seriously how is this happening,” she wrote.

She briefly called a friend but was cut short when her phone’s battery died.

“I’m trying to focus on my breathing and control my panic attack while I attempt to charge my phone by plugging into every USB port I could find,” she wrote, but that proved fruitless because the electricity on the plane was turned off.

After finally finding a torch in the cockpit, she managed to open one of the doors but faced a drop of up to 50 feet (15 meters) to get out of the plane.

She then used the torch to draw the attention of a luggage cart driver, who arrived to find Adams with her legs hanging out of the plane’s open doorway.

“He is in shock, asking how the heck they left me on the plane,” she said. “I’m wondering the same.”

Air Canada apologized for the incident, Adams said, but she hasn’t had much sleep since and is struggling with night terrors.

Air Canada told broadcaster CTV News that it was reviewing the episode but declined to offer further details. (afp)

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck remote eastern Indonesia on Monday, forcing people to flee office buildings as far away as the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials and reports said.

The deep and powerful earthquake sent shockwaves around the region, with people on the tourist island of Bali as well as in East Timor reporting feeling the tremor.

Indonesia was the epicentre of the Asian tsunami in 2004 that killed more than 170,000 people but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Monday’s quake was too deep to trigger a destructive wave.

Indonesia’s disaster agency, which urged people to “stay calm”, said the tremor was felt weakly in faraway Bali.

It hit at a depth of 208 kilometres (129 miles) south of Ambon island in the Banda Sea at 11:53 local time, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). There were no reports of casualties or any major damage.

“Wow, that was quite an impact for #Darwin, hope everyone is safe,” the bureau of meteorology in Australia’s Northern Territory said on Twitter.

People in Darwin’s central business district fled buildings after the quake struck, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The Southeast Asian archipelago of Indonesia, which is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth, lies to the north of Australia.

While the quake was too deep to spark a tsunami, its raw power jolted the region.

“The earthquake occurred at a depth of about 200 kilometres, and as the energy spreads upwards and outwards from the point at which it occurs, it will be felt in places as far away as Darwin,” said Chris Elders, a quake expert at Australia’s Curtin University.

Residents of Dili, the capital of East Timor, which lies southwest of the epicentre, were terrified as buildings shook.

“I was shocked. People were running around and screaming,” Agida dos Santos told AFP. “I saw the ground shaking -- it was really scary,” added the woman, who was in her Dili home when the quake struck.

Earlier Monday, Indonesia’s Papua province was hit by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake, about 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the town of Abepura, at a relatively shallow depth of 21 kilometres, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of casualties after that quake.

A shallower 6.3-magnitude tremor hit the area last week, but the damage was not extensive.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island killed more than 2,200 with a thousand more declared missing.

The massive quake that triggered the Asian Tsunami on December 26, 2004 struck in Aceh province and was measured at magnitude 9.1.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

11

ASEAN leaders call for restraint amid sea row, US-China rift BANGKOK — Southeast Asian leaders on Sunday pressed their call for self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea and renewed their alarm over the U.S.-China trade war, with one leader warning it may spiral out of control.

The long-raging territorial conflicts and the protracted dispute between the two global economic powerhouses are high on the agenda in the final of two days of meetings of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It’s an annual summit steeped in diplomacy, protocol and cultural color in the Thai capital.

Facing regional predicaments such as the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar, the leaders took the stage and clasped their hands together in a trademark ASEAN handshake to project unity.

Founded in 1967 in Bangkok in the Cold War era, the diverse 10-nation bloc lumps together an absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchies, along with socialist republics and fledgling democracies.

This year’s host, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, opened the summit with a call for regional unity and a push for the bloc to conclude a massive free trade pact with China and five other Asia-Pacific nations to cushion any impact from America’s trade conflicts with China.

“The winds of protectionism that are battering the multilateral system remind us that we must hang on ever stronger to one another,” Prayuth said.

The U.S., which has pursued bilateral deals over multination trade accords under President Donald Trump, is not included in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, which Prayuth said would encompass the world’s largest free-trade region.

Officials from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam will be at the G-20 summit later this month in Japan, where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet, and express the region’s concerns.

“ASEAN hopes there will be discussions that lead to an easing and resolution of these problems because they affect many countries,” Prayuth said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told other leaders on Saturday that the trade conflict between Washington and Beijing “is creating uncertainty. It is taking a toll on global growth and it could hinder the ongoing processes of economic integration.”

“The U.S. and China must both take the high road and resolve their differences before the situation spirals out of control,” the usually blunt Duterte said.

In their public communiques, the leaders have avoided naming the U.S. and China or specific nations embroiled in controversial issues in a show of their conservative protocols.

The leaders, however, could raise thorny issues in a closeddoor and informal session.

Duterte has said he would raise the territorial conflicts in the South China Sea following the June 9 ramming of an anchored Philippine boat by a larger Chinese fishing vessel in the disputed Reed Bank. The incident sparked an outcry and condemnations in the Philippines after the Chinese crew sailed away while the fishing boat sank at night. Its Filipino crew was rescued by a Vietnamese vessel.

Known for his close ties with China, Duterte has backed Beijing’s initial assertion that the collision was accidental.

He mocked calls for him to immediately take drastic actions and agreed to a joint investigation with China, which critics have opposed.

In a statement outlining their regional policies, the leaders on Sunday renewed their call for countries involved in the territorial spats to “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursue the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.”

Four ASEAN states — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — along with Taiwan and China are locked in disputes over the strategic waterway. ASEAN has been in talks with China to negotiate a nonaggression pact called the “code of conduct” to prevent major armed clashes in the offshore region, which has long been regarded as a potential Asian flashpoint.

Southeast Asian diplomats have told The Associated Press that the first of three rounds of talks on the proposed pact was expected to be completed this year. The more difficult aspects, including whether the pact should be legally binding and cover the entire disputed region, have been relegated to the final rounds so as not to stall the talks early on.

While China has praised the negotiations as a show of Asian nations’ ability to manage their conflicts peacefully, critics doubt if such a code of behavior can make a difference given Beijing’s increasingly aggressive assertion of its claims in the strategic waters.

They cite China’s construction of islands on seven disputed reefs in recent years despite it being a party to a 2002 non-binding regional agreement discouraging such actions.

China initially claimed some of the islands would serve as storm shelters for fishermen but Beijing instead installed defensive missile systems there and its naval forces shoo away and warn ships and aircraft that stray near.

Stepping back from the heavy issues, Prayuth told a news conference after the summit that ASEAN leaders backed the desire of the region, where football is popular, to submit a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. (ap)

IBP/ap

10

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Destination

International

Yeh Leh Beach NEGARA - Yeh Leh beach is located in Jembrana, just off the Denpasar-Gilimanuk highway. Yeh Leh is not decorated with soft white sand like your ideal beach.

Instead, thousands of boulders litter the shore, either covered in algae or washed clean by the waves. These mysterious rocks have been smoothed over for hundreds of years, leaving few clues about their origin.

Yeh Leh beach remains undeveloped as a tourist spot in Bali. The fact that not many people visit this beach has made it unique and peaceful.The beach is actually easily accessible, and you can visit at low tide to see Yeh Leh in all its glory, with the boulders unearthed and many interesting marine animals caught in the rock pools.

And if you can, don’t miss its stunning sunset, which lights up every shining rock

on the shore.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach very unique. The beach is composed of two parts, western and eastern parts. The western part of the beach is the rock, while the eastern part of the beach is black sand. In the west, this beach has a fairly wide stretch of coral. Interestingly not only rock, there is also a large stone and round. The stones were to gather in one place. As if there is someone who collects the stones.

When the afternoon, the sunset was beautiful, display the most beautiful sunsets there in October to February. Because of the stretcher in the sun is in the south of the equator, so the sun sets will be visible to the south. Reddish sunlight will look perfect when the month.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach also be a

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

International

All hail the ‘new queen’ - Australia piles praise on top-ranked Barty

place for Melasti ritual by local people.

Before the day of Nyepi, the Balinese people will hold a spiritual cleansing ritual to all amenities and facilities available in

the temple. This ritual is called Melasti.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach into place to implement the Melasti ritual by villagers in Pengeragoan. (IBP/net)

SYDNEY - Australia hailed “humble and inspirational” Ashleigh Barty as the new queen of tennis Monday after she joined Evonne Goolagong Cawley as the country’s second woman to reach world number one.

The French Open champion claimed the top spot by beating Julia Goerges to win the Birmingham WTA title on Sunday, capping a remarkable rise by the 23-yearold who once quit tennis to play cricket.

Along with Goolagong Cawley, who briefly held the top rank in 1976, she emulated John Newcombe, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt in the pantheon of Australians to reach world number one.

Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley commended a “remarkable historical accomplishment”.

“It’s a really hard thing to do and to achieve, that is just fantastic,” he told the Channel Nine TV network.

“I know her, she’s humble about it.

She just wants to get back on the tennis court and have a good hit.”

Goolagong Cawley, who like Barty has an indigenous heritage, said her rise had been “almost unstoppable”.

“Ash is a very worthy number one and winning at the French will have given her even more confidence,” she told reporters.

“I am so proud that another Aboriginal player sits on top of the rankings in women’s tennis, particularly a young lady who conveys such happiness in all she does.”

- ‘Put your hands together’ -

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph crowned her the “new queen” of tennis, with her down-to-earth approach a refreshing change for Australian tennis fans more used to the histrionics of Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic.

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“Watching her win a match is like watching those old-fashioned black and white news reels where an Evonne Goolagong or a Rod Laver graciously accepted their win without huge fuss or fanfare,” it wrote.

“She makes Australians feel proud she is one of us. Long may she reign.”

National broadcaster ABC said her rise was “nothing but deserved” after being unranked in 2016 when she returned to the game from a stint playing cricket with Brisbane Heat, while Fox Sports Australia tweeted: “Put your hands together for your new queen.”

Billie Jean King was among the tennis greats offering congratulations to Barty, who displaced Japan’s Naomi Osaka to reach number one.

“With incredible versatility, perseverance, and focus, Ash Barty is an inspiration to the next generation of young players in Australia. Well done!” she tweeted.

Barty, who began playing tennis as a child in the Queensland state capital Brisbane, has her eyes firmly on Wimbledon and told reporters her close-knit team would not be getting carried away with what had been achieved.

“We’ll just be very boring, to be honest,” she said when asked how they would celebrate. “We’ve got a big couple of weeks coming up; make sure we’re ready to go, but we’ll certainly be having a beer or two.”

Tennis Queensland chief Mark Bloomfield said children “have a role model now”.

“They have seen one of their own start as a five-year-old, learn here in Brisbane, go right through the ranks and come out as world number one proving that they can all do it,” he told reporters. (afp)

Paul ELLIS / AFP

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty poses for a photograph with the trophy after her straight sets victory over Germany’s Julia Gorges in their women’s singles final tennis match at the WTA Nature Valley Classic tournament at Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, central England on June 23, 2019.

GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Winner Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates with his trophy on the podium after the Formula One Grand Prix de France at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, southern France, on June 23, 2019.

‘Don’t blame me for boring races,’ says Hamilton after another F1 procession

LE CASTELLET - A triumphant Lewis Hamilton told his and F1’s critics Sunday not to blame the drivers for “boring” processional races, but instead to turn their focus on the rule-makers.

The defending five-time world champion produced a flawless demonstration of racing to triumph from pole position for the second year in succession Sunday’s French Grand Prix.

In a largely uneventful race on a sweltering afternoon at the Le Castellet circuit, he led his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas home as they extended the Silver Arrows winning run to 10 races.

It was hardly entertaining stuff for the fans at the track or the global television audience and Hamilton warned that the sport needed to consider making “serious changes”.

Speaking after his 79th career victory, he told reporters they should consider who should be blamed before drawing any conclusions.

“Don’t point fingers at the drivers because we don’t write the rules,” said Hamilton.

“We have nothing to do with the money and all that kind of stuff.

“You should put the pressure on the people at the head who should be doing their job. I think they are trying to, but for many, many years they have made bad decisions.”

Hamilton’s relentless success in a dominant Mercedes team has been celebrated in some quarters as an era of greatness, but others -– including the British driver -– have said they want to see more on-track battles and closer competition.

As a keen follower of other racing series, including Indycars in the United States, Hamilton has often said

Formula One needs to change its technical rule-book to encourage much closer racing.

He explained that he and Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg last week attended a meeting with Formula One Management (FOM) and the sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA).

At this meeting, he said they discussed the plans for an overhaul of the rules for 2021 and the introduction of cars that can tolerate the close proximity of other cars in races, without aerodynamic problems.

He said he welcomed the fact that the sport’s ruling bodies were open to hearing the views of the drivers.

“I had nothing to gain by going there, but if there is anything I can do to help, I will,” he added.

“They’ve been making all these decisions and never had a driver’s input once. So, if that can be decisive and help the fans to get better racing, then I would be proud.”

He would not be drawn to say he had confidence that the initiative would result in the necessary dramatic changes to transform the racing and eliminate dull processions.

But, he said: “I have faith that it’s going to be better and I really hope so. It was encouraging that they allow us to be there and they’re really welcoming.

“I hope they will continue to have us there -- a couple of us drivers each time.”

He added that he remained optimistic.

“I think they’ve extended their decision on making the rules and I think they need to because they are nowhere near where it should be.

“They’ve got to make some serious changes to the decision they have already made for how 2021 should be.

“But I am encouraged that Ross (Brawn, F1 director) and his team are working, for the first time, on a real aero package that hopefully will have an impact.” (afp)

8

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Copa America starts anew in quarters, says Argentina’s Messi Argentina will start from afresh in the Copa America after averting disaster with Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Qatar that sent them into the knock-out stages, star Lionel Messi said.

Goals from the Barcelona icon’s forward partners Lautaro Martinez and Sergio Aguero were enough to propel Argentina from bottom of Group B to second and into a quarter-final meeting with Venezuela on Friday at Rio’s Maracana stadium.

“The important thing was to win to keep going in the Copa, to get through the group stage,” said Messi, who will turn 32 on Monday. “This will be an important boost for what’s to come ... another Copa begins now. “This victory must give us strength and make us grow as a team.”

Argentina’s performance was far from pitch-perfect, but they were good enough to beat a limited Qatar side, who gifted them the opening goal after four minutes when Bassam Hicham played a suicidal ball across his own box straight to Martinez.

Messi admitted, though, that there were nerves in the Argentina camp. “It’s tough playing this kind of game due to the necessity, the obligation (to win), the fear of missing out. “But beyond that we played well and went through, which is what matters.”

Aguero, who was recalled after he was dropped for the 1-1 draw with Paraguay, had a mixed game alongside Messi and Martinez.

He worked hard to create chances for himself but lacked sharpness and precision in his finishing, until his brilliant goal where he burst past two defenders before shooting high into the far corner.

“Luckily I was picked to start and luckily at times the three of us worked well together and we won,” he said.

- Need to improve -

Carl DE SOUZA / AFP

Argentina’s Sergio Aguero celebrates with Argentina’s Lionel Messi after scoring against Qatar during their Copa America football tournament group match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on June 23, 2019.

Argentina will now play a side who beat them 3-1 in a friendly in Madrid in March. “They’re quite tough opponents who counter-attack really well and we’ll try to be wise to that,” said Aguero.

Coach Lionel Scaloni gave a sober assessment of Argentina’s form after a third straight match in which they struggled for long periods and failed to entirely convince.

“We’re satisfied because we’re in the next round ... but we have to improve in every aspect,” he said.

“Today at times the team played well and rid itself of fear.” And Scaloni hit out at claims back home that the squad was divided. “As long as we’re playing in the Copa, everyone’s pulling for the same side. There must be total unanimity,” he said.

“Many players aren’t even 25 yet and it’s a positive thing for them to have played in this match.” However, he was scathing about the state of the Arena do Gremio pitch in Porto Alegre, which will host a both a quarter-final and a semi-final.

“You can’t play on this pitch. Even so we tried to play, to press high, we played very well in the second half.” He had kind words for Qatar, who head home after a draw and two defeats from their three group games. “They’re a very worthy team with a great future, with young players,” he said.

The Asian champions, who will host the 2022 World Cup, have been invited back to next year’s Copa America, which will be played in Argentina and Colombia. (afp)

Mexico beat Martinique to reach Gold Cup quarter-finals

Mexico beat Martinique 3-2 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as winners of Group A ahead of Canada.

The Canadians advanced with a 7-0 romp over winless Cuba, fueled by hat-tricks from Lucas Cavallini and 19-year-old forward Jonathan David in the first match of the day’s doubleheader at Bank of America Stadium.

Heavily favored Mexico were tested by Martinique on the way to a victory that saw them complete

group play with three wins from three matches.

Uriel Antuna put Mexico up in the 29th minute and they seemed comfortably in control before Kevin Parsemain curled in a superb free kick in the 56th minute to knot the score at 1-1.

Goals from Raul Jimenez and Fernando Navarro put Mexico back in front and a late header from Jordy Delem wasn’t enough for Martinique.

Mexico, who made six changes

to the side that defeated Canada, saw their best early chance go begging as Andres Guardado was off-target from a cross by Jimenez.

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Antuna made it 1-0 with a sparkling effort, collecting a Guardado pass and running through on the right flank to fire a left-footed shot that went through a defender’s legs and in at the near post.

Martinique goalkeeper Loic Chauvet maintained the margin when

he denied a well-timed blast from Jimenez, tipping it over the cross bar shortly before halftime.

After Martinique pulled level, Mexico responded as Jimenez slotted home a cross from Rodolfo Pizarro in the 61st and Navarro struck in the 72nd.

Martinique continued to press and made it 3-2 on Delem’s header of a push, however, and pulled a goal back through Delem’s goal, off a cross from Daniel Herelle.

Mexico remained perfect under Argentinian manager Gerardo Martino with seven wins.

Mexico, seeking an eighth title in the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean, will face the runners-up from Group B in the quarter-finals -- either Costa Rica or Haiti who play on Monday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Canada will play the Group B winners. (afp)

9

Benitez to leave Newcastle as talks over new deal collapse

Rafael Benitez will leave Newcastle United after three years as manager when his contract expires next week, the Premier League club confirmed on Monday.

“It is with disappointment that we announce manager Rafael Benitez will leave Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2019,” Newcastle said in a statement.

Despite failing to keep Newcastle in the top flight shortly after taking over, Benitez earned hero status on Tyneside as he led Newcastle back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and then stabilised the club by finishing 10th and 13th in the last two seasons.

However, the Spaniard did not hide his displeasure at the lack of backing he was afforded by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and was

believed to be seeking assurances over the budget he would have to work with before committing his future to the club.

“We have worked hard to extend Rafa’s contract over a significant period of time, however it has not been - and will not be - possible to reach an agreement with Rafa and his representatives,” continued Newcatle’s statement.

“We would like to thank Rafa and his coaching team for their efforts over the last three years and their significant contribution to what has been collectively achieved.”

Benitez, who won the Champions League when in charge of Liverpool in 2005, has been reportedly offered a contract worth £12 million-a-year at Chinese club Dalian Yifang. (afp)

Khaled DESOUKI / AFP

Algeria’s forward Riyad Mahrez drives the ball during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football match between Algeria and Kenya at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on June 23, 2019.

Mahrez strikes as Algeria make light work of Kenya

Riyad Mahrez scored as an untroubled Algeria cruised to a 2-0 victory over Africa Cup of Nations underdogs Kenya in their first game of the competition in Cairo on Sunday.

Regular underachievers Algeria have lifted the trophy just once, on home soil in 1990, but are among a group of potential contenders in Egypt and will look to former African footballer of the year Mahrez for inspiration.

Prolific striker Baghdad Bounedjah fired Algeria ahead from the penalty spot on 34 minutes and Mahrez turned in a second before half-time in the second match of a Group C doubleheader at the 30 June Stadium. A highly-fancied Senegal beat Tanzania 2-0 in the earlier game.

It is almost a decade since Algeria last made an impact, reaching the 2010 semi-finals, and the north African conditions will suit a squad capable of going far.

“It’s never easy to win the first game of any competition. It’s always difficult for us to start the Cup of Nations,” said Algeria coach

Djamel Belmadi.

“Most of the time we drew or lost so this was an important message to send to the players, that if we want to have more of a chance to get past the first round we had to win this game.”

Kenya coach Sebastien Migne said he was disappointed with his team’s slow start, a position from which they never recovered.

“We were afraid and unfortunately we did not play. I don’t mind losing but not like this. I didn’t recognise my team at the beginning,” he said. “If you’re afraid it’s not possible to exist in this kind of tournament.”

Al Sadd’s Bounedjah, who hit a staggering 39 goals in just 21 starts in Qatar this past season, smacked wide as Algeria promptly put a Kenyan team making its first tournament appearance in 15 years on the defensive.

Youcef Belaili nearly rounded Kenya goalkeeper Patrick Matasi and then shot straight at him, while skipper Mahrez failed to make better use of two dangerous free-kicks, the second skipping wide after a

deflection.

A darting run from right-back Youcef Atal eventually opened the door for Algeria after half an hour, with the adventurous Nice defender chopped down in the box by Dennis Omino.

Bounedjah calmly stepped up to roll beyond Matasi and score in his sixth game running with the Desert Foxes, triggering an outpouring of joy from a sizeable and boisterous section of Algerian supporters.

Algeria quickly bagged a second when Manchester City winger Mahrez swept in a cutback from the left by Ismael Bennacer two minutes before the break.

Victor Wanyama’s Kenya succeeded in limiting the damage in an uneventful second half, in which the notable highlight was the late introduction of Andy Delort, the Montpellier forward who recently switched his allegiance from France.

Delort was a late call-up after Haris Belkebla was dropped from the squad for baring his backside online. (afp)

8

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Copa America starts anew in quarters, says Argentina’s Messi Argentina will start from afresh in the Copa America after averting disaster with Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Qatar that sent them into the knock-out stages, star Lionel Messi said.

Goals from the Barcelona icon’s forward partners Lautaro Martinez and Sergio Aguero were enough to propel Argentina from bottom of Group B to second and into a quarter-final meeting with Venezuela on Friday at Rio’s Maracana stadium.

“The important thing was to win to keep going in the Copa, to get through the group stage,” said Messi, who will turn 32 on Monday. “This will be an important boost for what’s to come ... another Copa begins now. “This victory must give us strength and make us grow as a team.”

Argentina’s performance was far from pitch-perfect, but they were good enough to beat a limited Qatar side, who gifted them the opening goal after four minutes when Bassam Hicham played a suicidal ball across his own box straight to Martinez.

Messi admitted, though, that there were nerves in the Argentina camp. “It’s tough playing this kind of game due to the necessity, the obligation (to win), the fear of missing out. “But beyond that we played well and went through, which is what matters.”

Aguero, who was recalled after he was dropped for the 1-1 draw with Paraguay, had a mixed game alongside Messi and Martinez.

He worked hard to create chances for himself but lacked sharpness and precision in his finishing, until his brilliant goal where he burst past two defenders before shooting high into the far corner.

“Luckily I was picked to start and luckily at times the three of us worked well together and we won,” he said.

- Need to improve -

Carl DE SOUZA / AFP

Argentina’s Sergio Aguero celebrates with Argentina’s Lionel Messi after scoring against Qatar during their Copa America football tournament group match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on June 23, 2019.

Argentina will now play a side who beat them 3-1 in a friendly in Madrid in March. “They’re quite tough opponents who counter-attack really well and we’ll try to be wise to that,” said Aguero.

Coach Lionel Scaloni gave a sober assessment of Argentina’s form after a third straight match in which they struggled for long periods and failed to entirely convince.

“We’re satisfied because we’re in the next round ... but we have to improve in every aspect,” he said.

“Today at times the team played well and rid itself of fear.” And Scaloni hit out at claims back home that the squad was divided. “As long as we’re playing in the Copa, everyone’s pulling for the same side. There must be total unanimity,” he said.

“Many players aren’t even 25 yet and it’s a positive thing for them to have played in this match.” However, he was scathing about the state of the Arena do Gremio pitch in Porto Alegre, which will host a both a quarter-final and a semi-final.

“You can’t play on this pitch. Even so we tried to play, to press high, we played very well in the second half.” He had kind words for Qatar, who head home after a draw and two defeats from their three group games. “They’re a very worthy team with a great future, with young players,” he said.

The Asian champions, who will host the 2022 World Cup, have been invited back to next year’s Copa America, which will be played in Argentina and Colombia. (afp)

Mexico beat Martinique to reach Gold Cup quarter-finals

Mexico beat Martinique 3-2 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as winners of Group A ahead of Canada.

The Canadians advanced with a 7-0 romp over winless Cuba, fueled by hat-tricks from Lucas Cavallini and 19-year-old forward Jonathan David in the first match of the day’s doubleheader at Bank of America Stadium.

Heavily favored Mexico were tested by Martinique on the way to a victory that saw them complete

group play with three wins from three matches.

Uriel Antuna put Mexico up in the 29th minute and they seemed comfortably in control before Kevin Parsemain curled in a superb free kick in the 56th minute to knot the score at 1-1.

Goals from Raul Jimenez and Fernando Navarro put Mexico back in front and a late header from Jordy Delem wasn’t enough for Martinique.

Mexico, who made six changes

to the side that defeated Canada, saw their best early chance go begging as Andres Guardado was off-target from a cross by Jimenez.

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Antuna made it 1-0 with a sparkling effort, collecting a Guardado pass and running through on the right flank to fire a left-footed shot that went through a defender’s legs and in at the near post.

Martinique goalkeeper Loic Chauvet maintained the margin when

he denied a well-timed blast from Jimenez, tipping it over the cross bar shortly before halftime.

After Martinique pulled level, Mexico responded as Jimenez slotted home a cross from Rodolfo Pizarro in the 61st and Navarro struck in the 72nd.

Martinique continued to press and made it 3-2 on Delem’s header of a push, however, and pulled a goal back through Delem’s goal, off a cross from Daniel Herelle.

Mexico remained perfect under Argentinian manager Gerardo Martino with seven wins.

Mexico, seeking an eighth title in the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean, will face the runners-up from Group B in the quarter-finals -- either Costa Rica or Haiti who play on Monday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Canada will play the Group B winners. (afp)

9

Benitez to leave Newcastle as talks over new deal collapse

Rafael Benitez will leave Newcastle United after three years as manager when his contract expires next week, the Premier League club confirmed on Monday.

“It is with disappointment that we announce manager Rafael Benitez will leave Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2019,” Newcastle said in a statement.

Despite failing to keep Newcastle in the top flight shortly after taking over, Benitez earned hero status on Tyneside as he led Newcastle back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and then stabilised the club by finishing 10th and 13th in the last two seasons.

However, the Spaniard did not hide his displeasure at the lack of backing he was afforded by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and was

believed to be seeking assurances over the budget he would have to work with before committing his future to the club.

“We have worked hard to extend Rafa’s contract over a significant period of time, however it has not been - and will not be - possible to reach an agreement with Rafa and his representatives,” continued Newcatle’s statement.

“We would like to thank Rafa and his coaching team for their efforts over the last three years and their significant contribution to what has been collectively achieved.”

Benitez, who won the Champions League when in charge of Liverpool in 2005, has been reportedly offered a contract worth £12 million-a-year at Chinese club Dalian Yifang. (afp)

Khaled DESOUKI / AFP

Algeria’s forward Riyad Mahrez drives the ball during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football match between Algeria and Kenya at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on June 23, 2019.

Mahrez strikes as Algeria make light work of Kenya

Riyad Mahrez scored as an untroubled Algeria cruised to a 2-0 victory over Africa Cup of Nations underdogs Kenya in their first game of the competition in Cairo on Sunday.

Regular underachievers Algeria have lifted the trophy just once, on home soil in 1990, but are among a group of potential contenders in Egypt and will look to former African footballer of the year Mahrez for inspiration.

Prolific striker Baghdad Bounedjah fired Algeria ahead from the penalty spot on 34 minutes and Mahrez turned in a second before half-time in the second match of a Group C doubleheader at the 30 June Stadium. A highly-fancied Senegal beat Tanzania 2-0 in the earlier game.

It is almost a decade since Algeria last made an impact, reaching the 2010 semi-finals, and the north African conditions will suit a squad capable of going far.

“It’s never easy to win the first game of any competition. It’s always difficult for us to start the Cup of Nations,” said Algeria coach

Djamel Belmadi.

“Most of the time we drew or lost so this was an important message to send to the players, that if we want to have more of a chance to get past the first round we had to win this game.”

Kenya coach Sebastien Migne said he was disappointed with his team’s slow start, a position from which they never recovered.

“We were afraid and unfortunately we did not play. I don’t mind losing but not like this. I didn’t recognise my team at the beginning,” he said. “If you’re afraid it’s not possible to exist in this kind of tournament.”

Al Sadd’s Bounedjah, who hit a staggering 39 goals in just 21 starts in Qatar this past season, smacked wide as Algeria promptly put a Kenyan team making its first tournament appearance in 15 years on the defensive.

Youcef Belaili nearly rounded Kenya goalkeeper Patrick Matasi and then shot straight at him, while skipper Mahrez failed to make better use of two dangerous free-kicks, the second skipping wide after a

deflection.

A darting run from right-back Youcef Atal eventually opened the door for Algeria after half an hour, with the adventurous Nice defender chopped down in the box by Dennis Omino.

Bounedjah calmly stepped up to roll beyond Matasi and score in his sixth game running with the Desert Foxes, triggering an outpouring of joy from a sizeable and boisterous section of Algerian supporters.

Algeria quickly bagged a second when Manchester City winger Mahrez swept in a cutback from the left by Ismael Bennacer two minutes before the break.

Victor Wanyama’s Kenya succeeded in limiting the damage in an uneventful second half, in which the notable highlight was the late introduction of Andy Delort, the Montpellier forward who recently switched his allegiance from France.

Delort was a late call-up after Haris Belkebla was dropped from the squad for baring his backside online. (afp)

10

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Destination

International

Yeh Leh Beach NEGARA - Yeh Leh beach is located in Jembrana, just off the Denpasar-Gilimanuk highway. Yeh Leh is not decorated with soft white sand like your ideal beach.

Instead, thousands of boulders litter the shore, either covered in algae or washed clean by the waves. These mysterious rocks have been smoothed over for hundreds of years, leaving few clues about their origin.

Yeh Leh beach remains undeveloped as a tourist spot in Bali. The fact that not many people visit this beach has made it unique and peaceful.The beach is actually easily accessible, and you can visit at low tide to see Yeh Leh in all its glory, with the boulders unearthed and many interesting marine animals caught in the rock pools.

And if you can, don’t miss its stunning sunset, which lights up every shining rock

on the shore.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach very unique. The beach is composed of two parts, western and eastern parts. The western part of the beach is the rock, while the eastern part of the beach is black sand. In the west, this beach has a fairly wide stretch of coral. Interestingly not only rock, there is also a large stone and round. The stones were to gather in one place. As if there is someone who collects the stones.

When the afternoon, the sunset was beautiful, display the most beautiful sunsets there in October to February. Because of the stretcher in the sun is in the south of the equator, so the sun sets will be visible to the south. Reddish sunlight will look perfect when the month.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach also be a

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

International

All hail the ‘new queen’ - Australia piles praise on top-ranked Barty

place for Melasti ritual by local people.

Before the day of Nyepi, the Balinese people will hold a spiritual cleansing ritual to all amenities and facilities available in

the temple. This ritual is called Melasti.

Yeh Leh Pengeragoan Beach into place to implement the Melasti ritual by villagers in Pengeragoan. (IBP/net)

SYDNEY - Australia hailed “humble and inspirational” Ashleigh Barty as the new queen of tennis Monday after she joined Evonne Goolagong Cawley as the country’s second woman to reach world number one.

The French Open champion claimed the top spot by beating Julia Goerges to win the Birmingham WTA title on Sunday, capping a remarkable rise by the 23-yearold who once quit tennis to play cricket.

Along with Goolagong Cawley, who briefly held the top rank in 1976, she emulated John Newcombe, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt in the pantheon of Australians to reach world number one.

Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley commended a “remarkable historical accomplishment”.

“It’s a really hard thing to do and to achieve, that is just fantastic,” he told the Channel Nine TV network.

“I know her, she’s humble about it.

She just wants to get back on the tennis court and have a good hit.”

Goolagong Cawley, who like Barty has an indigenous heritage, said her rise had been “almost unstoppable”.

“Ash is a very worthy number one and winning at the French will have given her even more confidence,” she told reporters.

“I am so proud that another Aboriginal player sits on top of the rankings in women’s tennis, particularly a young lady who conveys such happiness in all she does.”

- ‘Put your hands together’ -

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph crowned her the “new queen” of tennis, with her down-to-earth approach a refreshing change for Australian tennis fans more used to the histrionics of Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic.

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“Watching her win a match is like watching those old-fashioned black and white news reels where an Evonne Goolagong or a Rod Laver graciously accepted their win without huge fuss or fanfare,” it wrote.

“She makes Australians feel proud she is one of us. Long may she reign.”

National broadcaster ABC said her rise was “nothing but deserved” after being unranked in 2016 when she returned to the game from a stint playing cricket with Brisbane Heat, while Fox Sports Australia tweeted: “Put your hands together for your new queen.”

Billie Jean King was among the tennis greats offering congratulations to Barty, who displaced Japan’s Naomi Osaka to reach number one.

“With incredible versatility, perseverance, and focus, Ash Barty is an inspiration to the next generation of young players in Australia. Well done!” she tweeted.

Barty, who began playing tennis as a child in the Queensland state capital Brisbane, has her eyes firmly on Wimbledon and told reporters her close-knit team would not be getting carried away with what had been achieved.

“We’ll just be very boring, to be honest,” she said when asked how they would celebrate. “We’ve got a big couple of weeks coming up; make sure we’re ready to go, but we’ll certainly be having a beer or two.”

Tennis Queensland chief Mark Bloomfield said children “have a role model now”.

“They have seen one of their own start as a five-year-old, learn here in Brisbane, go right through the ranks and come out as world number one proving that they can all do it,” he told reporters. (afp)

Paul ELLIS / AFP

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty poses for a photograph with the trophy after her straight sets victory over Germany’s Julia Gorges in their women’s singles final tennis match at the WTA Nature Valley Classic tournament at Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, central England on June 23, 2019.

GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Winner Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates with his trophy on the podium after the Formula One Grand Prix de France at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, southern France, on June 23, 2019.

‘Don’t blame me for boring races,’ says Hamilton after another F1 procession

LE CASTELLET - A triumphant Lewis Hamilton told his and F1’s critics Sunday not to blame the drivers for “boring” processional races, but instead to turn their focus on the rule-makers.

The defending five-time world champion produced a flawless demonstration of racing to triumph from pole position for the second year in succession Sunday’s French Grand Prix.

In a largely uneventful race on a sweltering afternoon at the Le Castellet circuit, he led his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas home as they extended the Silver Arrows winning run to 10 races.

It was hardly entertaining stuff for the fans at the track or the global television audience and Hamilton warned that the sport needed to consider making “serious changes”.

Speaking after his 79th career victory, he told reporters they should consider who should be blamed before drawing any conclusions.

“Don’t point fingers at the drivers because we don’t write the rules,” said Hamilton.

“We have nothing to do with the money and all that kind of stuff.

“You should put the pressure on the people at the head who should be doing their job. I think they are trying to, but for many, many years they have made bad decisions.”

Hamilton’s relentless success in a dominant Mercedes team has been celebrated in some quarters as an era of greatness, but others -– including the British driver -– have said they want to see more on-track battles and closer competition.

As a keen follower of other racing series, including Indycars in the United States, Hamilton has often said

Formula One needs to change its technical rule-book to encourage much closer racing.

He explained that he and Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg last week attended a meeting with Formula One Management (FOM) and the sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA).

At this meeting, he said they discussed the plans for an overhaul of the rules for 2021 and the introduction of cars that can tolerate the close proximity of other cars in races, without aerodynamic problems.

He said he welcomed the fact that the sport’s ruling bodies were open to hearing the views of the drivers.

“I had nothing to gain by going there, but if there is anything I can do to help, I will,” he added.

“They’ve been making all these decisions and never had a driver’s input once. So, if that can be decisive and help the fans to get better racing, then I would be proud.”

He would not be drawn to say he had confidence that the initiative would result in the necessary dramatic changes to transform the racing and eliminate dull processions.

But, he said: “I have faith that it’s going to be better and I really hope so. It was encouraging that they allow us to be there and they’re really welcoming.

“I hope they will continue to have us there -- a couple of us drivers each time.”

He added that he remained optimistic.

“I think they’ve extended their decision on making the rules and I think they need to because they are nowhere near where it should be.

“They’ve got to make some serious changes to the decision they have already made for how 2021 should be.

“But I am encouraged that Ross (Brawn, F1 director) and his team are working, for the first time, on a real aero package that hopefully will have an impact.” (afp)

6

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

W

RLD

International

International

Farm fights stigma in Russia for people with learning disabilities

ALEKSINO - On a warm sunny day, 37-yearold Vika walked through a farmyard carrying a compost bin, saying to AFP with pride: “This is my job.”

She’s one of 18 Russians with learning disabilities to live and work on the Svetlana farm which has a dairy and bakery where residents do daily chores and therapy.

It’s a rare example in Russia of people with special needs being integrated into the local community, as most remain hidden from view in outdated state institutions left over from Soviet times.

The farm opened more than 25 years ago in a village, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from Russia’s second city, Saint Petersburg.

It is part of an international residential communities movement founded by an Austrian paediatrician in 1939.

The Camphill Movement provides educational and employment support for adults with learning disabilities and other special needs around the world.

At Svetlana, residents with various types of learning disabilities including Down syndrome lead an outdoorsy life on the farm, with help from five teachers and three volunteers.

In sharp contrast to conditions in state-run homes, they live together in spacious houses, where they have separate bedrooms and share living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens.

- ‘Integrate into ordinary life’ -

Most Svetlana residents are sent to live on the farm for long periods by their families or guardians and contribute towards their costs which are mostly met by charity and state donations.

For Vika, the farm has been home for the last 19 years during which time she has “changed a lot”, director Yelena Aleneva, 51, said.

“She has become an independent person,” she told AFP. “The goal of the farm is to integrate the residents into ordinary life as much as possible,” she added.

Vika and her fellow farm hands work in the morning

Powerful Indonesian quake felt in Australia

before moving on to their hobbies.

On the day AFP visited, art therapy teacher Irina Andreyeva was rehearsing a play with them based on the French classic “The Little Prince” that included dance, music and their drawings.

Watching Natasha, a young girl with Down syndrome, dance in the show, Andreyeva said: “They are very talented, each in their own way.”

- Soviet-era isolation -

According to official figures, 160,000 people with learning difficulties still live in state institutions in Russia that have a dire reputation.

Under communism, authorities encouraged isolating people with learning disabilities, who were considered unfit for work, to such places.

Living conditions in the facilities sharply deteriorated during the economic crisis following the fall of the USSR in 1990.

Despite significant improvements since then, they continue to be a matter of concern for human rights activists.

In 2015, a fire killed 23 mostly elderly patients at a residential home in southwest Russia. Two years earlier, two other fires in the same type of institution killed almost 80 people. Standard state residential centres have hundreds of people crammed together in dormitories, often under-supervised and with limited opportunities to train for employment, according to campaigners for reforms and rights groups.

“For a child with learning disabilities, it is a difficult scenario,” Anna Klepikova, an anthropologist at Saint Petersburg’s European University, told AFP. “In Russia, there is practically no chance of socialisation after someone reaches 18 years of age,” she said.

She noted however “real trends towards Russian society becoming more humane” towards those with learning disabilities.

Programmes to help people integrate are appearing, she said.

“But these only cater for the needs of a few dozen people.” (afp)

Olga MALTSEVA / AFP

Natasha, 21, who has Down syndrome, serves lunch to residents of the Svetlana farm outside the settlement of Aleksino, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) from Saint Petersburg, on May 18, 2019. At Svetlana, 18 Russians with various types of learning disabilities including Down syndrome lead an outdoorsy life on the farm, with help from five teachers and three volunteers.

IBP/net

A woman boarded an Air Canada flight earlier this month, fell asleep after takeoff and woke up alone in a dark, parked plane, apparently forgotten about by ground staff.

Air Canada passenger falls asleep on plane, wakes up alone MONTREAL - A woman boarded an Air Canada flight earlier this month, fell asleep after takeoff and woke up alone in a dark, parked plane, apparently forgotten about by ground staff.

Tiffani Adams’s story was posted by a friend on Air Canada’s Facebook page, drawing incredulous reactions from readers and a request for details from the airline.

According to the post, Adams was flying from Quebec to Toronto Pearson International Airport when she fell asleep, aided by the fact that she’d ended up with a whole row of seats to herself.

She woke up in “pitch black,” with the plane having landed and apparently been towed away from the airport, after passengers and crew had disembarked.

“I think I’m having a bad dream (because) like seriously how is this happening,” she wrote.

She briefly called a friend but was cut short when her phone’s battery died.

“I’m trying to focus on my breathing and control my panic attack while I attempt to charge my phone by plugging into every USB port I could find,” she wrote, but that proved fruitless because the electricity on the plane was turned off.

After finally finding a torch in the cockpit, she managed to open one of the doors but faced a drop of up to 50 feet (15 meters) to get out of the plane.

She then used the torch to draw the attention of a luggage cart driver, who arrived to find Adams with her legs hanging out of the plane’s open doorway.

“He is in shock, asking how the heck they left me on the plane,” she said. “I’m wondering the same.”

Air Canada apologized for the incident, Adams said, but she hasn’t had much sleep since and is struggling with night terrors.

Air Canada told broadcaster CTV News that it was reviewing the episode but declined to offer further details. (afp)

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck remote eastern Indonesia on Monday, forcing people to flee office buildings as far away as the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials and reports said.

The deep and powerful earthquake sent shockwaves around the region, with people on the tourist island of Bali as well as in East Timor reporting feeling the tremor.

Indonesia was the epicentre of the Asian tsunami in 2004 that killed more than 170,000 people but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Monday’s quake was too deep to trigger a destructive wave.

Indonesia’s disaster agency, which urged people to “stay calm”, said the tremor was felt weakly in faraway Bali.

It hit at a depth of 208 kilometres (129 miles) south of Ambon island in the Banda Sea at 11:53 local time, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). There were no reports of casualties or any major damage.

“Wow, that was quite an impact for #Darwin, hope everyone is safe,” the bureau of meteorology in Australia’s Northern Territory said on Twitter.

People in Darwin’s central business district fled buildings after the quake struck, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The Southeast Asian archipelago of Indonesia, which is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth, lies to the north of Australia.

While the quake was too deep to spark a tsunami, its raw power jolted the region.

“The earthquake occurred at a depth of about 200 kilometres, and as the energy spreads upwards and outwards from the point at which it occurs, it will be felt in places as far away as Darwin,” said Chris Elders, a quake expert at Australia’s Curtin University.

Residents of Dili, the capital of East Timor, which lies southwest of the epicentre, were terrified as buildings shook.

“I was shocked. People were running around and screaming,” Agida dos Santos told AFP. “I saw the ground shaking -- it was really scary,” added the woman, who was in her Dili home when the quake struck.

Earlier Monday, Indonesia’s Papua province was hit by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake, about 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the town of Abepura, at a relatively shallow depth of 21 kilometres, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of casualties after that quake.

A shallower 6.3-magnitude tremor hit the area last week, but the damage was not extensive.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island killed more than 2,200 with a thousand more declared missing.

The massive quake that triggered the Asian Tsunami on December 26, 2004 struck in Aceh province and was measured at magnitude 9.1.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

11

ASEAN leaders call for restraint amid sea row, US-China rift BANGKOK — Southeast Asian leaders on Sunday pressed their call for self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea and renewed their alarm over the U.S.-China trade war, with one leader warning it may spiral out of control.

The long-raging territorial conflicts and the protracted dispute between the two global economic powerhouses are high on the agenda in the final of two days of meetings of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It’s an annual summit steeped in diplomacy, protocol and cultural color in the Thai capital.

Facing regional predicaments such as the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar, the leaders took the stage and clasped their hands together in a trademark ASEAN handshake to project unity.

Founded in 1967 in Bangkok in the Cold War era, the diverse 10-nation bloc lumps together an absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchies, along with socialist republics and fledgling democracies.

This year’s host, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, opened the summit with a call for regional unity and a push for the bloc to conclude a massive free trade pact with China and five other Asia-Pacific nations to cushion any impact from America’s trade conflicts with China.

“The winds of protectionism that are battering the multilateral system remind us that we must hang on ever stronger to one another,” Prayuth said.

The U.S., which has pursued bilateral deals over multination trade accords under President Donald Trump, is not included in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, which Prayuth said would encompass the world’s largest free-trade region.

Officials from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam will be at the G-20 summit later this month in Japan, where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet, and express the region’s concerns.

“ASEAN hopes there will be discussions that lead to an easing and resolution of these problems because they affect many countries,” Prayuth said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told other leaders on Saturday that the trade conflict between Washington and Beijing “is creating uncertainty. It is taking a toll on global growth and it could hinder the ongoing processes of economic integration.”

“The U.S. and China must both take the high road and resolve their differences before the situation spirals out of control,” the usually blunt Duterte said.

In their public communiques, the leaders have avoided naming the U.S. and China or specific nations embroiled in controversial issues in a show of their conservative protocols.

The leaders, however, could raise thorny issues in a closeddoor and informal session.

Duterte has said he would raise the territorial conflicts in the South China Sea following the June 9 ramming of an anchored Philippine boat by a larger Chinese fishing vessel in the disputed Reed Bank. The incident sparked an outcry and condemnations in the Philippines after the Chinese crew sailed away while the fishing boat sank at night. Its Filipino crew was rescued by a Vietnamese vessel.

Known for his close ties with China, Duterte has backed Beijing’s initial assertion that the collision was accidental.

He mocked calls for him to immediately take drastic actions and agreed to a joint investigation with China, which critics have opposed.

In a statement outlining their regional policies, the leaders on Sunday renewed their call for countries involved in the territorial spats to “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursue the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.”

Four ASEAN states — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — along with Taiwan and China are locked in disputes over the strategic waterway. ASEAN has been in talks with China to negotiate a nonaggression pact called the “code of conduct” to prevent major armed clashes in the offshore region, which has long been regarded as a potential Asian flashpoint.

Southeast Asian diplomats have told The Associated Press that the first of three rounds of talks on the proposed pact was expected to be completed this year. The more difficult aspects, including whether the pact should be legally binding and cover the entire disputed region, have been relegated to the final rounds so as not to stall the talks early on.

While China has praised the negotiations as a show of Asian nations’ ability to manage their conflicts peacefully, critics doubt if such a code of behavior can make a difference given Beijing’s increasingly aggressive assertion of its claims in the strategic waters.

They cite China’s construction of islands on seven disputed reefs in recent years despite it being a party to a 2002 non-binding regional agreement discouraging such actions.

China initially claimed some of the islands would serve as storm shelters for fishermen but Beijing instead installed defensive missile systems there and its naval forces shoo away and warn ships and aircraft that stray near.

Stepping back from the heavy issues, Prayuth told a news conference after the summit that ASEAN leaders backed the desire of the region, where football is popular, to submit a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. (ap)

IBP/ap

12

International

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

BUSINESS

The move Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department could complicate talks next week between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, aimed at de-escalating a trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.

The five blacklisted organizations placed on the so-called Entity List includes supercomputer maker Sugon, which is heavily dependent on U.S. suppliers including chipmakers Intel, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

The other four are the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing

Technology and three Sugon affiliates. The Commerce Department called their activities “contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Sugon and the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute, which the U.S. said is owned by a Chinese army research institute, are involved in China’s push to develop next-generation “exascale” high performance computing to assist with military modernization.

The technology involved supports such military-related tasks as running nuclear simulations, calculating missile trajectories and hypersonic algorithms, said Paul Triolo, technology analyst with the global risk-assessing Eurasia Group.

“This is all about the race to exascale computing, which China has designated as a major priority,” he said, adding that companies such as Sugon have received major government backing.

Of particular concern to China hawks in the Trump administra-

AP Photo/Andy Wong

In this May 29, 2019 file photo, a man walks past a Huawei retail store in Beijing. On Friday, June 21, 2019, the United States blacklisted five Chinese organizations, calling them national security threats and cutting them off from critical U.S. technology. In May, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted telecommunications giant Huawei, heightening tensions with Beijing.

tion, Triolo added, is Sugon’s move to develop a next-generation processor of its own. It licensed one generation of AMD technology as part of a 2016 joint venture in which a Sugon subsidiary has an ownership stake.

An AMD spokesperson said the company was reviewing the order “to determine next steps related to our joint ventures.”

In recent years, U.S. and Chinese companies have been alternating as leading producers of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

Sugon had 63 of the top 500 in the most recent rankings .

The blacklist effectively bars U.S. firms from selling technology to the Chinese organizations without government approval.

Last month, Commerce last month added telecommunications giant Huawei to it, heightening tensions with Beijing .

This is not the first time the U.S. has placed on the Entity List a Chinese organization involved in supercomputer development with military uses. In 2015 it added China’s National University of Defense Technology to the Entity List.

“The U.S. is gradually squeezing off access to US technology for major elements of China’s next generation supercomputing,” said Triolo. The long-running campaign isn’t directly related to Trump’s current trade war with China.

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is preparing to target another $300 billion, extending the import taxes to virtually everything China ships to the United States. China has retaliated with tariffs on U.S. products.

Talks to resolve the dispute broke off last month. But Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet next week at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, to get the negotiations back on track.

“Adding more Chinese companies to the U.S. bad guys list may be seen as a way to ramp up the pressure on China,” said Amanda DeBusk, a partner at Dechert LLP and the former Commerce Department assistant secretary for export enforcement. “However, the Chinese may see this as ill-timed bullying. They cannot be seen as making concessions to the United States, so this may have the effect of hurting any chances for trade agreement.”

The administration appeared to be sending mixed signals ahead of the summit.

In what looked like a goodwill gesture to Beijing, Vice President Mike Pence postponed a speech planned for Monday at a Washington think tank at which he was expected to criticize China’s communist regime.

Asia specialist Tami Overby, senior director at the McLarty Associates consultancy, said that “it seems odd” that the Trump administration would delay Pence’s speech and then turn around and expand its tech blacklist. (ap)

Angola bounces back after slump in fuel production

Angola is bouncing back after its fuel production slumped last year to a decade low as President Joao Lourenco steers reforms vital to the country’s economy and wins approval from oil majors.

“It is a new era. I see a growing interest from investors,” says Guido Brusco, vice-president for subSaharan Africa of Italian giant ENI. “We should come back to 2012/2013 to see the same level of interest” as that now being shown

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

5

Future of Batuan Style looking bright

US blacklists 5 Chinese groups working in supercomputing WASHINGTON — The United States is blacklisting five Chinese organizations involved in supercomputing with military-related applications, citing national security as justification for denying its Asian geopolitical rival access to critical U.S. technology.

Bali News

International

by investors, Brusco told AFP on the sidelines of a conference earlier this month in Luanda.

France’s Total, the premier operator in Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria with output of 650,000 barrels per day, confirms as much.

“There is a business environment which could lead us soon to sign several agreements,” says a Total spokesperson. “A new page of Angola’s petrol industry is clearly

opening.”

The arrival of Lourenco, who succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ruled for 36 years, has marked a radical step for the OPEC-member country.

When Lourenco took office oil prices were struggling to come back from a slump going back to 2014 but he has launched a string of initiatives in order to tackle falling production.

With oil Angola’s primary re-

source, that was an overriding priority given that production of “black gold” last year slid just below 1.5 million bpd, its lowest level for 10 years -- the consequence of low prices and a freezing of new projects.

“We were in an environment of low prices and firms found it difficult to get responses from (state producer) Sonangol to advance dossiers,” an oil sector source who requested anonymity told AFP.

Before embarking on reforms Lourenco first spent several months consulting the industry to pinpoint means of relaunching activity.

A series of policies, including tax perks, were introduced, enshrined in several presidential decrees which, Brusco says, have managed to “improve the investment climate.”

Brusco says he served on a committee to deliver proposals to that effect “and the government endorsed those proposals.”(afp)

Children’s drawing exhibiting at Gallery Oka Kartini

The village of Batuan has been a center of art in Bali for at least 1000 years and continues to be home to a remarkable number of talented artists practicing unique art practices including dance, sculptor and painting. The painting style for which Batuan has gained world renown, has undergone slight changes over time in astoundingly creative ways yet also maintains certain distinct characteristics including the technical method with which they are created.

While this style requires great skill, patience and feeling the people of Batuan have continued to practice this distinctive style over countless generations. In the early part of the 20th century this style underwent a kind of renaissance with brighter colors and a wider range of subjects being depicted in these paintings. The popularity of this style thrived for many decades, providing artists with a means of earning a living, thanks to the growing tourism industry.

Over time however, as the market demand diminished, one by one these painters turned to other means of earning a living, leaving painting behind. By 2012, out of the 70 or so painters who had been diligently working in the traditional Batuan style, only about two dozen were still active. In an effort to ensure that this precious art form would continue into the future, an exhibition was held at Museum Batuan, followed by several more in other important art venues including Arma Museum, the Denpasar Art Center and others.

The name Baturulangun was taken from an ancient document, which recounts the story of the people of Batuan beseeching their king for respite from the rice tax and is the earliest known reference to an artist guild in Bali. The word “Baturulangan” itself can be translated as “offering art” or “art offering“ and indicates the spirit in which art work was being created up until the very recent past and in many cases continues to be today.

The head of Batuan village provided a space and the older painters provided the skills, time and attention needed to transmit the methods and nurture a love for this way of painting. The first year of operation, they invited elementary aged school kids to come and learn to learn them every Sunday.

However with each passing week there were less and less kids finding the patience to remain focused on the elaborate process. So, the next year, they teamed up with local schools to provided classes that would be graded, along with the extra Sunday classes.

In October 2018, the Indonesian government officially recognized the art of Batuan as a National Intangible Heritage, and although the young children may not understand the implications of this, it certainly indicates to them that it is not just their teachers who have some strange obsession with Batuan style painting, but that the painstaking process of learning to paint in this style has wider reaching value.

The truly astounding talent that emerges from these young children in a very short time is a testament to the diligence of their teachers but also to something about the people of Batuan that seems to bring forth art works of exceptional power, beauty and meaning.

These youngsters are trained in making the basic shapes used in traditional Batuan ornamentation as well as the line, shading, and coloring technics specific to this style, and although the kids are indeed exposed to extremely masterful art works by their elders, they are entirely free to come up with their own compositions, subjects and narratives in their works.

It seems unlikely that these works could have come from such young children and yet their works bear witness to this unlikely reality. Even a casual glance at these

art works reveals their startling mastery, depth of feeling, intuitive understanding of compositions, remarkably complex conceptual visions and sincere appreciation for the craft itself.

While all children have an innate sense of creativity, and many show dexterity as well, there seems to be little doubt that the children of Batuan carry within them something

of their ancestral heritage that expresses itself in these sometimes mysterious, often humorous, and always refined and powerful works.

Small artworks by the children who study drawing with Baturulangung are currently on display at Oka Kartini Gallery on Jalan Raya Ubud. And will remain in display until July 20th, 2019. (kmb)

4

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Bali News

International

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

International

Tiki mask still demanded by international markets

BANGLI — A number of handicraft products made by Bangli artisans have been successfully penetrating the export market. One of them is a bamboo root handicraft product made by Kadek Sudanco. Within a month, the demand for this kind of products reaches hundreds of pieces.

Sudanco revealed that his handicraft products which are currently still in demand by foreign markets is tiki mask. The products made from bamboo roots are in demand because they have a unique design. Usually, this product is used as a wall decoration.

In the international market, many tiki mask orders come from Britain, Germany and the United States. The sizes of order vary starting from 15 centimeters to 16 centimeters. In once order, customer may ask for hundreds of pieces of bamboo root crafts.

“For the current seasons, the total order reaches 500 pieces,” he

said on Sunday (Jun. 23).

Some of the orders he received directly through WhatsApp and some others were directly placed by consumers to his arts hop.

“It has been in demand from the past. Usually the products having been purchased will be resold in their country,” he said.

In addition to tiki masks, the handicraft products being in demand are bamboo root kulkul or split drum. This product is in demand because of its unique design and loud sound.

To make handicraft products, the man who opened the art shop in the Susut area claimed to get bamboo root supply from around Bangli like Penglipuran, Kubu, to several other villages. Sudanco admitted to have difficulty in obtaining raw materials of large bamboo roots. “Meanwhile, the small- and medium-sized materials are still adequate, so that I can still get them,” he said. (kmb40)

IBP/kmb

WBF Rock Music Festival’s winners take a picture together after the trophy submission on Thursday night (Jun. 20).

WBF Rock Music Festival appreciates to Bali Rock Music activists

MANGUPURA — In the series of the 9th WBF Anniversary, the 12th Anniversary of Billabong FO Anniversary, and expression of gratitude for the opening of Quicksilver FO, a rock band audition was held on Thursday (Jun. 20). Located in front of the WBF, the activity featuring the theme ‘WBF Rock Music Festival’ was attended by nine local bands as well as all the employees under the aegis of Panugrahan Group.

According to the Head of the Competition Committee, I Gusti Ayu Swasmini, the event is a medium to give appreciation to Balinese rock musicians. Besides, it is also meant to foster the talents of local Balinese

rock bands that deserve to be appreciated.

Through the activity, he hoped the local millennial generation can be more developed. Thus, her company is very supportive of the activities to foster creativity, especially that of young people. She explained this series of anniversary events are not only filled with music festival, but also entertainment in the form of modern dance and Balinese dance. In the future, through such activities, she hoped the WBF store can continuously grow and become increasingly well known among the public.

Winners of the event came respectively to Glorious Band Group in the first place, Mr. Band Group in the second place and, Sweet Potatoes Band in third place.

Meanwhile, the Favorite winner was won by Bring Back the Hero Band. (kmb23)

IBP/kmb

A number of handicraft products made by Bangli artisans have been successfully penetrating the export market.

ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP

This picture taken on June 22, 2019 shows artwork depicting protesters and messages in support of protesters opposed to a China extradition law posted on the “Lennon Wall” outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong. Viral artwork pummelling city leaders, clever word plays and Cantonese cursing that would make a sailor blush -- Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of satire during their huge anti-government protests.

Memes, cartoons and caustic Cantonese: the language of Hong Kong’s protests

HONG KONG - Viral artwork pummelling city leaders, clever word plays and Cantonese cursing that would make a sailor blush -- Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of satire during their huge anti-government protests.

Anger has punctuated much of the historic rallies roiling Hong Kong in the last two weeks as the public vents huge opposition to an attempted China extradition law and frustrations over years of sliding freedoms.

But humour has never been far away.

The legions of tech-savvy youngsters never miss an opportunity to invent new chants, memes, banners and slogans that often turn the criticism against the movement on its head.

Outside the city’s parliament, a shrine has sprung up for the finance hub’s beleaguered pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam. A black banner underneath reads: “Suspend your mother”.

The first word is a reference to protester demands that the extradition bill be permanently taken off the table, not just suspended as the government has now done.

But the last two words reference a favourite local insult: “F*** your mother”.

Cantonese is an uproariously caustic language with misogynistic insults to an opponent’s mother thrown around during even fairly pedestrian disagreements.

But after police were filmed shouting “Reporter, your mother!” to journalists -- questioning their credentials -- during clashes with protesters earlier in the month, demonstrators seized on the phrase, immortalising it in WhatsApp stickers, banners and printing it on t-shirts.

It was also a way to skewer Lam,

who gave an interview where she likened herself to an exasperated mother trying not to give into every demand from the childlike protesters.

- Cantonese c-word -

An even more irreverent rallying cry protesters have adopted with relish -- and plastered on the outside walls of the city’s legislature -- is the phrase “freedom hai”.

The word “hai” is arguably the rudest of what is dubbed “the five great Cantonese profanities” and refers to female genitalia.

Police were also filmed yelling an insult at demonstrators that sounded like “freedom hai”, and demonstrators reclaimed the insult, adopting it with pride.

Protester Kit-ying, 25, said the slogan was a “refusal to be oppressed”.

“Especially as a woman, if you call us that, we will turn it into our slogan and transform it from its passive role into an active one,” she told AFP. Not all the puns are derisive.

One of the most popular chants has been “fan sung jung” which literally translates to “against being sent to China”.

But “sung jung” is also a homophone for seeing off a dead relative at a funeral, encapsulating fears that the extradition law will be the death of their city.

Yuen Chan, a journalism lecturer at London’s City University, says Hong Kong’s history as a trading hub has birthed a vernacular that absorbs influences “in endless creative and sometimes irreverent ways”.

“In recent years, online culture and increasing interest and pride in local culture as created an even more fertile environment for Cantonese Kongish wordplay and satire,” she added. (afp)

13

Turkey opposition deals blow to Erdogan in Istanbul win

ISTANBUL - Turkey’s opposition revelled Monday in a landslide win in Istanbul’s rerun mayoral vote -- a blow for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that even some pro-government media called a victory for democracy.

Ekrem Imamoglu, a little-known district mayor at the start of the year, won the election by more than 777,000 votes, up from just 13,000 in the first election in March, which was annulled over controversial claims of fraud.

It was a rare chance to celebrate for the opposition after 25 years of rule by Islamic conservatives in Istanbul.

And it was a rare blow to Erdogan, who has held national power since 2003.

In the traditionally left-wing neighbourhood of Besiktas, thousands partied late into night, clogging the streets, waving beers and Turkish flags.

“It wasn’t right to repeat this election, but the fact that it was won with such a gap is even better for Istanbul,” said 45-year-old Servan Soydan as he walked his dog on Monday.

There was less jubilation in the media, which has been almost entirely put under the thumb of the government in recent years.

“Istanbul has voted,” read the subdued headline of the Yeni Safak newspaper.

The fiercely pro-government Sabah also downplayed Imamoglu’s success but sought a slightly

more positive spin, saying: “Democracy Wins”.

- Victim status -

Many analysts say the decision to call a re-run of the election was a massive miscalculation by the ruling party, turning Imamoglu into a victim and a household name.

“The Turkish nation has always defended and supported victims. I believe it is because they couldn’t explain why there was a cancellation that they lost this way, with this big punishment,” said Istanbulite Naziye Durmus on Monday.

Imamoglu’s “massive victory is a lesson in democracy: people want their rights respected,” tweeted the former EU ambassador to Turkey Marc Pierini, now with the Carnegie Europe think tank.

Imamoglu took 54 percent of the vote against the ruling party’s candidate Binali Yildirim, a former prime minister.

At a huge rally in his stronghold in western Istanbul late Sunday, Imamoglu said: “It was not a single group or party, but the whole of Istanbul and Turkey that won this election.”

Erdogan conceded defeat on Twitter, saying simply: “I congratulate Ekrem Imamoglu who has won the election based on preliminary results.”

The president’s party remains the most popular nationwide, but has been hurt lately by slowing growth and rising prices.

It also lost control of the capital Ankara at the local elections in March. (afp)

GURCAN OZTURK / AFP

Istanbul citizens celebrate after the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate won Istanbul’s mayoral re-run elections, at Besiktas on June 23, 2019.

14

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Science

International

‘Sneezing’ plants may spread pathogens to their neighbors

IBP/net

When two bats are together, their brain activity falls into lockstep, a synchrony that may help coordinate some social behaviors, a study finds.

NEXT time you pass a wheat field on a dewy morning, you might want to say “gesundheit.”

That’s because some sick plants can “sneeze” — shooting out tiny water droplets laden with pathogens, scientists report June 19 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. In wheat plants infected with the fungus Puccinia triticina, coalescing dew droplets flew away from the leaves they were on and carried fungal spores with them, experiments showed. The pathogen, which causes a destructive disease known as leaf rust, might then be able to infect other wheat plants.

The flinging effect, which can happen on healthy plants too, is the result of a quirk of fluid dynamics: When two water drops unite, surface tension is released and converted into kinetic energy that can hurl the fluid away.

It’s a “surface tension catapult,” says mechanical engineer Jona-

Chinese tourist visits to Bali decline 29 percent

than Boreyko of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The effect occurs only on extremely water-repellent, or superhydrophobic, surfaces, like the leaves of certain plants, including wheat.

The drops can jump a few millimeters — high enough to escape the layer of still air that surrounds each leaf, so that a gentle breeze could carry the water and spores to other plants, Boreyko and colleagues report. The catapulting effect was known to occur on other superhydrophobic surfaces, but this is the first time it’s been suggested that it helps transmit disease.

Understanding how leaf rust spreads could be important for controlling it. If “sneezing” turns out to be an important source of transmission, plants could be sprayed with a coating to make them no longer superhydrophobic, for example, Boreyko says. (net)

Mice and bats’ brains sync up as they interact with their own kind

WHEN animals are together, their brain activity aligns. These simpatico signals, described in bats and mice, bring scientists closer to understanding brains as they normally exist — enmeshed in complex social situations.

Researchers know that neural synchrony emerges in people who are talking, taking a class together and even watching the same movie. But scientists tend to study human brains in highly constrained scenarios, in part because it’s technologically difficult to capture brain activity as people experience rich social interactions. Now two studies published June 20 in Cell offer more details about how synced brains might influence social behavior.

In one study, researchers monitored a pair of Egyptian fruit bats in a dark chamber for more than an hour. Neural implants recorded brain activity as the bats groomed themselves, fought, rested and performed other behaviors.

The brain activity of the two bats was highly co-

ordinated. When one bat’s neural activity oscillated in a fast rhythm, for example, the other bat’s brain was likely to do the same thing. This coordination continued even when the bats weren’t directly interacting with each other, the team found. But when the bats were separated into two chambers in the same room, this correlated activity fell away, suggesting that the bats had to be sharing the same social context for their brains to link up.

A similar result came from a study in mice. As with the bats, when two mice were separated, their brain activity was no longer coupled, researchers report.

This neural synchrony might underpin some social behaviors, such as grooming each other or fighting. Just before bats interacted, their brain activity became more coordinated. Brain synchrony also appeared to be a factor in contests of dominance between mice. A pushier mouse’s behavior was more likely to spark brain coordination than a meeker mouse’s actions, researchers found. (net)

Bali News

International

IBP/net

Disease could spread when sick wheat plants send dewdrops flying, an effect related to the release of merging drops’ surface tension.

DENPASAR — Chinese tourist visits to Bali in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 29 percent. Primarily, it remains to be affected by the closure of shops of the Chinese mafia network in Bali that carried out unfair business practices. Nevertheless, this condition is believed to be the beginning to attract more qualified Chinese tourists.

“For us, we are now looking for qualified tourists,” said the Head of the Bali Tourism Office, AA Gede Yuniartha Putra, when receiving a visit of the Indonesian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing, at the office of Bali Tourism Board, on Friday (Jun. 21).

Yuniartha supported BTB’s efforts to implement a sales mission to Beijing next July. Moreover, Beijing is the center of government in China. Bali tourism stakeholders can meet local tourism stakeholders as well as their government.

It is considered positive to further promote Bali tourism. On the other hand, his office would also propose that Meeting, Incentive, Convention, Exhibition (MICE) events could be held more frequently on the Island of the Gods.

“For MICE event, everything will move ranging from transportation, hotels to destinations. On that account, if possible, it will be better to establish the Bali Convention Bureau,” he explained.

The Indonesian Ambassador to China in Beijing, Djauhari Oratmangun, stated that Bali is actually quite well known in China. A small survey conducted by the Indonesian Embassy indicates that people of the bamboo curtain country even averagely have an extraordinary desire to visit Bali. The existence of trade war between the United States and China can be an opportunity for the Island of the Gods because Chinese government is now issuing a travel warning to the superpower country.

“This is a great opportunity because tourists traveling to the United States are on average belonging to mid class community and upwards.

The outbound is estimated to reach 180 million,” he said.

According to Djauhari, the cooperation needs to be established between Bali and Indonesia with cities in China through communication strategies, including connectivity via direct flights that must be further encouraged. In addition, he will also approach the media, especially the People’s Daily newspaper in China.

Similarly, the embassy will also hold an article writing competition for influencers on social media about Indonesian tourism and IndonesianChinese relations, especially Bali, in the context of tourism.

“I will select the winners later.

Besides, I will also coordinate and work with the regional government

3

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Hobbies become a business

BANGLI — Selling birds have become a side business having been carried out by the Headman of Kubu, Arya Wibowo. Unmitigatedly, from this side business, this father of three children can reap profits of up to hundreds of millions of rupiahs per month.

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Head of the Bali Tourism Office, AA Gede Yuniartha Putra. to send the winners to Bali,” he explained.

By visiting Bali, continued Djauhari, influencers in China can see firsthand the potential and beauty of Indonesia. After that, they can write it into their language so that their followers can understand it. Another program is the embassy will help hold roadshow in four or five cities in China in the second semester of next year as well as hold a culinary week in collaboration with the hotel chains in China. After becoming a resource person at Fintech, Djauhari also wanted to hold a blockchain summit in Bali and make Bali a digitalization city.

“We are transitioning from the average market to the upper level market. Travelers will reduce in terms of quantity but having high expenditure. This is the market that we are trying to catch. The middle class in China is growing so amazingly so the outbound increase is very significant,” he concluded.

Arya claimed to have started the side business of selling birds since 2009. It started from his hobby of raising birds since he was in elementary school. He raised all kinds of birds when he was a child. Just starting in 2009, he really liked red anis. Initially, he was able to buy red anis up to 11 heads. Since considered to have too many birds, this Warmadewa University graduate then thought of selling the birds through social media.

Since he considered it profitable, he was then serious about living it as a side business in the mid of his busy activities as a headman. At present, he has at least 54 heads of red anis at his home.

Arya added that red anis had been one of the types of birds that are quite attractive to the public, especially bird lovers.

The birds frequently included in the competition have a fairly high selling price. A red anis bird can be sold starting from IDR 1 million to hundreds of millions.

“Assessment criteria of red anis are in terms of sound, style and appearance. Red anis is the only bird that can be jazzed. In the competition, this condition is popular,” he explained.

All this time, many pet birds are bought by bird lovers in Bali and outside Bali. Marketing is only done through social media. Within a month, he can sell from 5 to 20 red anis birds.

“A number of people are looking for red anis this month. My turnover can reach hundreds of millions of rupiahs per month.

For normal months, my turnover can maximally reach IDR 30 million per month,” said this native to Kubu.

As a side business, the treatment of his red anis is usually carried out among his free time twice a week. Aside from selling birds, the man who served as Headman of the Kubu has been quite actively participating in animal conservation efforts since 2013. He claimed to routinely donate his red anis to be released to nature, along with the Indonesian bird conservation community. (kmb40)

Emotional connection

Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), IB Agung Partha Adnyana, said that tourism cannot be just for the business of buying and selling. But there must be an emotional connection established.

“Don’t think that Chinese people know Bali. Maybe it’s very small.

Chinese people need knowledge products to drive more tourists to come to Bali,” he said.

A Chinese native, Zuo Shuai, considered Bali to be famous for its beautiful scenery, especially the sea and sunset. Then, Balinese culture inspired by Hinduism is also a special attraction. This is what distinguishes it from other tourist destinations. It is supported by good accommodation facilities plus the atmosphere of Bali is very relaxed and there are no too high buildings.

“We can use motorbikes if we want to go anywhere. There are many restaurants where we can enjoy Balinese cuisines. Of course, here there are also many shopping places, clubs, and at night we can sit on the beach,” he explained. (kmb32)

Arya Wibowo

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2

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Bali News

International

DLHK finally closes illegal landfill at Mumbul after fire incident

IBP/Asmara

Minimizing chaos of new student admission

Denpasar asked to flexibly apply ministerial regulation DENPASAR - New Student Admission (PPDB) for 2019/2020 academic year referring to the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture No. 51/2018 concerning New Student Admission resulted in chaos in a number of regions and Denpasar is no exception. Moreover, the existence of public schools in this city is inadequate. In addition, the locations are not evenly distributed. On that account, there is a suggestion not to tightly apply the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture. It must be more flexible, so that it can accommodate local potential.

This was conveyed by Chairman of PDI-P Faction in the Denpasar House of Representatives, Kadek Agus Arya Wibawa, after receiving a number of parents that complained about this year’s new student admission issue on Sunday (Jun. 23).

Kadek Agus said the implementation of zoning system this time caused anxiety for prospective students and their parents. This condition happened due to a number of problems that occurred in Denpasar.

Among them, the spread of public schools is uneven and high population density around the school location.

There is no solution for students having high grades in academics but they live far from the school location.

Likewise, the students having outstanding achievements in the field of art are threatened not to get public schools because of the limited quota at each school.

This solution must be immediately sought and strategic policy must be taken by the mayor immediately because the situation and condition of each region

related to this system is not the same. Moreover, Denpasar has been building a vision as cultured-city automatically the people has the characteristics to boost their children from the beginning in the art field in addition to academics, said this PDI-P politician from South Denpasar.

He stated the municipal government too strictly implemented the zoning system based on the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture. “Do not be too strict and theoretical in applying the rules, and it must be adjusted to reality in society. Immediately take strategic policies related to this matter. Do not let the community be like in other regions making a demonstration just because of the problem of new student admission, he said.

Previously, the Mayor of Denpasar IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra met on the sidelines of receiving a visit from the Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya at Badung Market, admitted there is no policy to delay the implementation of the PPDB with zoning system. Moreover, the chaos occurred in Denpasar is different from that of other regions in Indonesia.

Mayor Rai Mantra stated that condition of PPDB had gone well. However, he recognized it was a bit crowded on the taking of tokens. This happened because of the matter of queuing. People did not yet know about the mechanism for taking tokens, so that they broke out on the first day.

“Let’s see first. We saw worse thing happening in Magelang. It implemented such rules by trail and errors at some registered schools. To be noted, this regulation has not yet been tested, later on we will see the weaknesses and will give advice to central government,” he said. (kmb12)

MANGUPURA - Regarding the existence of illegal landfill revealed due to fire incident some time ago, the Badung Environment and Sanitation Agency (DLHK) immediately closed the area. Other than closing, on Friday (Jun. 21) the DLHK team also conducted a site inspection and provided coaching for the owner of the illegal landfill located on Hilton Hill, Mumbul hamlet, Benoa, South Kuta.

When confirmed, Head of DLHK Badung, Putu Eka Merthawan, said the Environmental Detective Team of the agency accompanied by headman of Benoa, hamlet chief of Mumbul immediately provided guidance for the landowner I Wayan Kapur from Mumbul hamlet. Location of the illegal landfill, said Eka, covered an area of 2,800 square meters having been operating since three years ago. “Last Friday, the team had been deployed to come down to the location. The landowner, hamlet chief and headman already signed an agreement to close the area.

Besides, the landowner promised not to reopen the illegal landfill,” he said on Sunday (Jun. 23).

He emphasized if similar waste disposal activities will be found at the location, a firm action will be taken. In other words, if he returns to violate or keep throwing garbage at the location, the violation will be

Activities

International

processed according to Law No. 18/2008 and Law No. 32/2008. Additionally, if later on a fire breaks out and causes disruption to others, the landowner must be responsible.

He said the reason for the landowner that did not dispose of garbage to Suwung Landfill is the community paid the services at low price. Moreover, the hamlet chief expected if the landowner indeed is not able to handle or dispose of the garbage to Suwung Landfill because of low fees it should be given to others to handle.

In the future, he will continuously supervise the existence of illegal landfill in South Kuta. He admitted the existence of illegal landfill in South Kuta continues to mushroom. “Before the Galungan holidays, three to four illegal landfills will be closed because of approaching rainy season. During rainy season, it will certainly result in unpleasant odors,” he said.

We will continue to provide legal pressure so as not to have a severe impact. If people violate the law, they will certainly face the law with a maximal punishment of 5 years and a fine of IDR 3 billion.

“In this case, we from DLHK are no longer permissive in dealing with the environment. Certainly, we will still go through the process according to the procedure,” he concluded. (kmb23)

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

15

MOXY HOTELS AND NYC TATTOO ARTIST MEGAN MASSACRE LEAVE THEIR MARK THROUGH ART-INSPIRED TRAVELING TATTOO STUDIO

Moxy Hotels has joined forces with tattoo goddess Megan Massacre, to offer complimentary tattoos inspired by the brand’s Blank Canvas art program. Moxy’s pop-up tattoo studios kicked off this past spring at the official opening party for Moxy Washington, D.C, giving guests the opportunity to celebrate emerging artists from the program in a permanent way.

Those still hoping to get inked by Massacre are in luck – the famed New York City tattoo artist will continue to tattoo images inspired by artists from the program at Moxy Chattanooga in Tennessee on June 25, and at Moxy Atlanta Midtown this fall, two of the brand’s newest hotels.

Moxy’s Blank Canvas initiative invites innovative painters, photographers, film-makers, sculptors, illustrators and graffiti artists to submit unique works of art for the chance to be one of the showcased artists at new Moxy Hotels.

Selected works become the cornerstone of a permanent contemporary, emerging art collection at each Moxy hotel. Owner of New York-based studio Grit N Glory, Massacre will put her own vibrant spin on Moxy’s Blank Canvas artists’ works, offering guests original tattoo designs available exclusively at Moxy hotels.

“Moxy’s Blank Canvas program embodies a fun and playful approach to curating art, and similar to the tattoos I create, it’s an expression of individuality that inspires creativity,” said Megan Massacre, Owner of New York-based studio Grit N Glory.

Massacre tattooed guests during Moxy Washington, D.C. Downtown’s opening party, creating original designs inspired by artist Rahul Jha. Jha’s Blank Canvas piece, on display at the D.C. hotel, provides an unexpected lens on the Dada art movement and showcases an eagle, D.C.’s map and objects including Jenga blocks, pools and lemon wedges that play into the Dada art aesthetic and Moxy’s fun atmosphere. Hailing from Kolkata, India, the multi-talented artist started his career as a mechanical engineer and then followed his true passion to become an artist.

On June 25 at Moxy Chattanooga in Tennessee, Massacre will interpret the original artwork created by the hotel’s Blank Canvas artist Petra Braun. After starting

with passionate illustrations in her schoolbooks, Austria-based Braun worked as a graphic designer, before going to study at the University of Art and Design in Linz, where she honed her painting and graphics skills. Highly inspired by nature, her art reflects the playful, peaceful, calm and balanced nature of nature itself.

“Moxy Hotels are a playground for travelers and locals alike to engage in spontaneous experiences that are bold and culturally captivating,” said Toni Stoeckl, Vice President, Distinctive Select Brands, Marriott International.

“Through our collaboration with Megan Massacre, we’re celebrating our Blank Canvas artists in true Moxy fashion – by transforming our walls into permanent wearable art for guests.”

Moxy Hotels works with global creator collaboration platform Talenthouse to call on multi-media artists from around the world to submit contemporary works for the Blank Canvas program that encapsulate the unexpected, fun, spirited attitude that Moxy Hotels embodies and celebrates. Artists are

invited to collaborate with Moxy on a creative brief to submit original artwork. Selected works become fixtures in the art collection at each participating hotel. Participating Moxy hotels also hosts a Masterclass Series, which allows artists to school guests and Marriott Bonvoy members on their craft in hands-on workshops.

Moxy Atlanta Midtown, the third location for Megan Massacre’s tattoo pop-up, is currently in the process of looking for its Blank Canvas Artist-in-Residence. The hotel, which is located right on Atlanta’s Art Walk, is offering one artist the opportunity to create artwork that will become ingrained in Midtown Atlanta’s vibrant culture. Home to the largest concentration of cultural venues in the southeast and attracting more than 6 million visitors each year, Midtown Atlanta’s art scene isn’t confined to gallery walls – it spills out into the streets and sidewalks.

Artists are being invited to design and paint mural artwork for an outdoor space at the hotel, inspired

by Midtown’s high-energy arts

hub and Moxy’s cheeky ‘Play On’ mentality. As the first installation along the Art Walk, the piece will set the tone for future installations along the art corridor. Envisioned as a unique pedestrian experience, the Art Walk links culture and community to transit within a creative space that fosters human connection and interaction at the

street level.

So far Moxy has welcomed everything from a live art installation featuring a giant pink teddy bear, to massive video walls, to locallyinspired murals into its Moxy hotels. Plus, participating Moxy hotels host a Masterclass Series for artists to students on their craft in a hands-on workshop.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Pink Floyd star David Gilmour sells guitar collection

NEW YORK - Pink Floyd star David Gilmour has sold his guitar collection for a record amount at auction, raising money to fight against climate change.

The 73-year-old singer and guitarist sold more than 120 instruments for a total of almost £17m.

His 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster alone fetched £3.1m, setting a world auction record for any guitar.

The Black Strat was used on albums including The Wall, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon.

More than 2,000 bidders from 66 countries registered for the sale, which was held at auction house Christie’s in Rockefeller Centre in New York.

The auction house said it delayed the start of the sale by one hour after an “unprecedented number of bidders” turned up, leading a second saleroom to be opened up to accommodate the crowds.

Christie’s said Gilmour’s collection was the most valuable sale of musical instruments in auction history, beating a previous record held by Eric Clapton.

Gilmour was raising funds for ClientEarth, a charity made up of environmental lawyers.

The British musician said the current climate emergency was the “greatest challenge that humanity will ever face” and warned against the “irreversible” effects of climate change.

He said: “The choice really is that simple, and I hope that the sale of these guitars will help ClientEarth in their cause to use the law to bring about real change.

“We need a civilised world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”

ClientEarth’s chief executive James Thornton said the money was a “truly humbling and extraordinary gift” and would be a “phenomenal boost” to the charity’s work. (net)

His guitar collection sold for a total of nearly £17m at auction.

IBP/net

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

IBP/net

Mark Rylance called on the RSC to set a positive example for the future of sponsorship in the arts.

Rylance quits Royal Shakespeare Company over BP sponsorship

LONDON - Oscar-winning British actor Mark Rylance said Friday he was quitting the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) over a sponsorship deal with British energy giant BP. “I feel I must dissociate myself from the RSC, not because it is any less of a theatre company, but because of the company it keeps,” the 59-year-old RSC associate artist wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

The RSC and BP have been in partnership since 2012. The energy firm sponsors £5 ($6.40, 5.60-euro) tickets for 16- to 25-year-olds, in a partnership set to last until 2022.

Rylance has been with the RSC for three decades.

“I do not write this in anger or righteousness,” said Rylance, who won the 2015 best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in “Bridge of Spies”.

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“I am resigning to lend strength to the voices within the RSC who want to be progressive.”

He claimed BP was “arguably destroying the planet”.

“I feel I must resign as I do not wish to be associated with BP any more than I would with an arms dealer.”

The RSC said it was saddened

by Rylance’s move, The Guardian said.

BP and other energy multinationals are under intensifying pressure from campaigners to halt carbon fuel development and focus on renewable forms of energy.

BP did not comment on the actor’s decision, but said it was proud to have provided some 10,000 cheap tickets for young people each year through its sponsorship, said The Guardian. (afp)

AP Photo

Police tape is set up around a match factory after a fire in Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Friday, June 21, 2019. A number of people including children were killed in the fire that swept through a house that doubled as a match factory, a disaster official said Friday.

Police arrest Indonesia business owner after deadly fire

JAKARTA — Indonesian police have arrested the owner and two managers of an unregulated factory in North Sumatra that was engulfed by a fire that killed 30 people, a spokesman said Sunday.

The three suspects could each face five years in prison if found guilty of negligence leading to deaths, said North Sumatra province police spokesman Tatan Dirsan Atmaja.

The business was operating from a house in the North Sumatra district of Langkat and reportedly

made match sticks and lighters.

Its female employees were trapped in Friday’s blaze by a locked door. Five children died in the inferno and only four people escaped, Atmaja said.

A preliminary investigation found the blaze may have started

with a worker testing the “spark wheel” of a lighter and inadvertently igniting other flammable agents including a gas canister, he said.

The suspects — two men and a woman — were arrested in the provincial capital Medan on Saturday.

So far police forensic experts have

identified seven bodies, said Atmaja.

Millions of Indonesians work in unsafe conditions in informal or poorly regulated industries and accidents and fatalities are common.

Dozens died in the collapse of an unlicensed gold mine in North Sulawesi in February, and at least 47 people including underage workers were killed by a blaze at a fireworks factory in a

Jakarta satellite city in October 2017. (ap) 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.