Edition Tuesday, December 26, 2017 | International Bali Post

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Circus owner sues Kid Rock for using ‘Greatest Show On Earth’ slogan

TAMPA - The company that owns the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which for years had dubbed itself the “Greatest Show on Earth,” filed a lawsuit accusing singer Kid Rock of using the slogan unlawfully.

Feld Entertainment, the production company that owns the longtime circus show and associated intellectual property, said in a lawsuit filed Friday that singer Robert Ritchie, known professionally as Kid Rock, and Live Nation Entertainment were infringing the circus’ “celebrated and valuable” trademark by using the slogan on the singer’s upcoming U.S. concert tour without permission.

The company, in the lawsuit filed on Friday in U.S. district court in Tampa, charged trademark dilution and infringement, unfair competition, injury to business reputation and unjust enrichment.

“We have authorized licensees for Ringling Bros. and The Greatest Show On Earth, but Kid Rock is not one of them,” Feld general counsel Lisa Joiner said in a Friday statement.

Among Feld’s licensees are restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, telecommunications provider MetroPCS

and nonprofit Easterseals, according to the lawsuit. Representatives for Kid Rock and Live Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

The company said it had contacted Kid Rock and Live Nation repeatedly to ask that they stop using the slogan but was ignored.

The lawsuit asked the court to stop the unauthorized usage of the slogan in connection with Kid Rock’s tour and merchandise, and award Feld profits derived from the slogan’s use and triple unspecified damages.

In May, Feld Entertainment ended its storied Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in New York after nearly 150 years of showcasing animals, clowns and acrobats to millions.

The finale came a year after the company bowed to pressure from animal rights activists and agreed to stop using elephants as its featured attraction in its performances, which it said affected ticket sales amid high operating costs.

Feld earned more than $50 million annually in the last five years from goods and services sold under the trademark, according to the lawsuit. (rtr)

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Head clown Davis Vassallo performs during the last show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, May 21, 2017.

L-R Israeli film producer Ram Bergman, US film director Rian Johnson, British actress Daisy Ridley, US actor Mark Hamill pose at the red carpet for the Chinese premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ at the Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai on December 20, 2017.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ soars to $745 million worldwide

LOS ANGELES - Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is showing plenty of force at mulitplexes worldwide with $745.4 million globally as of Sunday.

The North American take has hit $365 million in its first 10 days as of Sunday with the studio projecting another $32 million on Christmas Day on Monday - making it the third highest domestic release in 2017 following “Beauty and the Beast” with $504 million and “Wonder Woman” at $412 million.

“Stars Wars: The Last Jedi” has totaled $380.3 million in international box office. It is already the top grossing film of 2017 in both Denmark and Sweden and the fourth highest grosser in the overall European market. The U.K. is the top market with $67.4 million, followed by Germany with $40 million, France with $29.3 million and Australia with $26.9 million.

“The Last Jedi,” which picks up following the events of 2015’s

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” is so far the 87th highest worldwide grosser of all time, trailing 2016’s “Suicide Squad” by $1.4 million. Rian Johnson directed with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson reprising their roles. It’s the final screen role for Fisher, who died a year ago.

Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” have also opened solidly while Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” is drawing respectably at the domestic box office. But moviegoers are showing little interest in Paramount’s “Downsizing” and Warner Bros.-Alcon’s “Father Figures.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

opened with the second-largest North American launch ever in its first weekend with $220 million.

It faced competition for the first time on Dec. 20, with Sony’s action comedy “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which is leading the rest of the pack with $34 million at 3,765 sites for Friday-Sunday and a sixday total of around $64 million.

Josh Greenstein, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, pointed to the A- CinemaScore as an indication that “Jumanji” is attracting all demographics. “We have incredible momentum as we go into the biggest moviegoing week of the year,” he added.

“Jumanji” also opened solidly with $49.5 million in 53 international markets, finishing ahead of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in 28 territories. Its top performance came in the U.K. with a secondplace finish at $10.1 million including previews. (rtr)

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

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REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

A man dressed in a Santa Claus outfit waves to people from a fisherman’s boat on Christmas Eve along the coast of Valparaiso, Chile, December 24, 2017.

Mideast needs two-state solution, Pope says in Christmas message

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis used his Christmas message on Monday to call for a negotiated two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after U.S. President Donald Trump stoked regional tensions with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Francis spoke of the Middle East conflict and other world flashpoints in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address, four days after more than 120 countries backed a U.N. resolution urging the United States to reverse its decision on Jerusalem.

“Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognised borders,” he said, referring to the Israelis and Palestinians.

“We see Jesus in the children of the Middle East who continue to suffer because of growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said in his address, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to tens of thousands of people.

It was the second time that the pope has spoken out publicly about Jerusalem since Trump’s decision on Dec. 6. On that day, Francis called for the city’s “status quo” to be respected, lest new tensions in the Middle East further inflame world conflicts.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state, whereas Israel has declared the whole city to be its “united and eternal” capital.

Francis, leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, urged people to see the defenceless baby Jesus in the children who suffer the

most from war, migration and natural calamities caused by man today.

“Today, as the winds of war are blowing in our world ... Christmas invites us to focus on the sign of the child and to recognise him in the faces of little children, especially those for whom, like Jesus, ‘there is no place in the inn,’” he said.

OPEN HEARTS FOR REFUGEES Francis, celebrating the fifth Christmas of his pontificate, said he had seen Jesus in the children he met during his recent trip to Myanmar and Ban-

gladesh, and he called for adequate protection of the dignity of minority groups in that region. More than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya people have fled mainly Buddhist Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent months. The pope had to tread a delicate diplomatic line during his visit, avoiding the word “Rohingya” while in Myanmar, which does not recognise them as a minority group, though he used the term when in Bangladesh.

“Jesus knows well the pain of not being welcomed and how hard it is not to have a place to lay one’s head. May our hearts not be closed as they were in the homes of Bethlehem,” he said.

He also urged the world to see Jesus in the innocent children suffering from wars in Syria and Iraq and also in Yemen, complaining that its people had been “largely forgotten, with seri-

ous humanitarian implications for its people, who suffer from hunger and the spread of diseases”. He also listed conflicts affecting children in South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ukraine and Venezuela.

At his Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, Francis strongly defended immigrants, comparing them to Mary and Joseph finding no place to stay in Bethlehem and saying faith demands that foreigners be welcomed.(rtr) 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, December 26, 2017

Bali News

International

Activities

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

15

Special interview with Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources

Tourism Island should be pollution-free

DENPASAR - Tourism activities in Bali require the support of a great deal of electricity and other sources of energy. However, according to experts, this does not mean that the island of the Gods needs to be producing its own electricity as the pollution that this could cause could be harmful to tourism.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan

IBP/kmb

“Tourism on the Bali Island is quite extraordinary. In my opinion, it is better for electrical energy to be supplied from other regions rather than building power plants here”, said Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan, in a special interview with BaliTV, Bali Post and Indonesia Network in Badung on Thursday night (Dec. 21).

According to Jonan, Bali consumes less electricity that the City of Surabaya which requires approximately 1,000 MW, while Bali only needs about 800 MW. Indonesia has a policy of not depending on other countries for electricity as much as possible, However sourcing electricity from other islands within Indonesia is fine.

“For example, building a steam power plant that is primary fed with coal surely results in pollution regardless of the technology used. The island of tourism should be pollution-free”, explained Jonan.

Jonan added that the addition of electrical energy production in Bali would have to be a renewable source based on the central government’s ‘Bali Clean Enrgy’ declaration. This does not have to be geothermal energy, it could be solar or hydro energy as long as it is not diesel or gaz-fueld like the power plant in Pesanggaran, Denpasar, he said.

“The gas supply to PLTDG Pesanggaran is one of the most expensive in Indonesia. We must try ot find a cheaper way of producing energy. If we cannot find a cheaper way then the cost of electricity will keep going up”, explained Jonan.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, continued Jonan, has been instructed by the president to have every working unit to their utmost possible to benefit the people. This included maintaining upstream oil and gas fields so that their supplies do not decline. The single- price of fuel across Indonesia is also part of this endeavour as it encourages people to switch from to gas stoves to electrical stoves. A total of 4.5 million tons of the 6.5 million ofLPG that is consumed in Indonesia is imported, so by switching to electrify energy independence can be realised. Indonesia does not have its own means of converting the dry gas that this nation has into LPG. “If we switch to electric stoves, the electricity is generated from natural gas produced in Indonesia. Coal is also produced in Indonesia and so are wind-, solar-, hydro-generated energy and so on”, he explained.

In addition to electric stoves, Jonan also encourages people to switch to electric vehicles to reduce fuel consumption. Daily fuel consumption reaches 1.6 - 1.7 million barrels, while domestic production only reaches 800,000 barrels. The government is striving to provide electricity to around 2,500 villages that have none and to another 10,000 other villages that only have perfunctory electricity. Energy-saving solar lamps have also been provided to a number of villages. In terms of mining he continued, the government, is focused on completing the acquisition of shares in Freeport Indonesia as well as improving research results in the field.

“We continue to build up Indonesia in the spirit of diversity. Equity of development is very much needed. Energy, electricity and fuel subsidies are still given to underprivileged or disadvantaged communities”, he concluded. (kmb32)

Grandfather dies of old age in distaster-prone area AMLAPURA - An 82 year old grandfather named Wayan Darpa was found dead by his relatives in Friday (Dec 22). Darpa who had refused to evacuate from Abian Tihing Hamlet, in Amerta Bhuana, Selat located in disaster prone (KBR) III, died of old age. His family had evacuated to Bukit Lalalng, Perangsari Kaja Norht Duda, Selat which is located in distaste pronearea(KBR ) II and had repeatedly pleaded with Darpa to join them,

but he simply refused.

“We only found out that this resident of Amerta Buana was still in his home after he died and his family was having trouble carrying out the funeral procession. We were contacted to help with the burial so we rushed there to help”, said a Pasebaya volunteer, Gede Suartawan.

The steep terrain made it hard for the evacuation team to move the corpse as they had to walk about a mile uphill. Pasebaya Sec-

retary, I Wayan Suara Arsana, said that Darpa’s corpse was disrupted because the road leading to local cemetery had been cut off by floods a few days earlier. Finally, the old man’s corps was moved to a safe location by palaquin and then a Karangasem Hospital ambulance before the funeral process finally took place.

The funeral processionIt passed through circular road in North Duda to Duda and Selat village

before heading for the cemetery.

The burial process went on as usual despite the overcast weather and general anxiety on the slopes of Mount Agung. The death of Darpa was added to the list of people from the disaster-prone areas that have died since the warning level for Mount Agung was raised to level IV. Between September 22nd until a few days ago some 100 people who were evacuated to Buleleng, Klungkung, Denpasar,

Bangli, Gianyar and Karangasem have died. Most of them died in Karangasem.

Head of the Karangasem Social Agency, Ni Ketut Puspa Kumari, explained that nobody died as a direct result of volcanic activity – whether from volcanic ash, gravel or cold lava flows. All of them died due to either old age, chronic illness, asthma and the like. A few evacuees died from stress related illnesses. (kmb31)

 Founder : K.Nadha,  General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Gugiek Savindra  Editors:Agus Toni, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Manik Astajaya, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Dewa Farendra. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

Chinese Government Visits Taman Safari’s Giant Panda Exhibition

On Sunday 26 November 2017, in cooperation of Giant Panda conservation between Indonesia and China, Taman Safari Indonesia received an official visit from the government delegation of the People’s Republic of China led by H.E. Madame Liu Yandong, Deputy Prime Minister (Vice Premier II).

This visit was conducted to feel the experience of being a visitor at the Panda Palace of Indonesia, Taman Safari Bogo and a direct review to see the conditions of a couple Giant Panda, Cai Tao and Hu Chun.

During the official visit of PRC government in the Panda Palace, the symbolic handover of the con-

servation papers of the Giant Panda was given honorably from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) PRC representative directly to Ir. Wiratno, M.sc., Director General of KSDAE Bureau, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, which was continued to the Director of Taman Safari Indonesia.

Also attended in the official review of the Chinese government delegation in Taman Safari Bogor is representative from Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture of Indonesia as the Ministry of Coordination and agenda facilitator of the Government-toGovernment between Indonesia

and China, namely Tb. A. Choesni, Deputy for Coordination for Poverty Reduction and Social Protection, who gave a speech at the event.

Bali Safari and Marine Park | Jl. Bypass Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra Km. 19,8, Serongga, Kec. Gianyar, Bali |Ph: +62 361 950000 | www. balisafariandmarinepark.com

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Science

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

U.S. lifts funding ban on studies that enhance dangerous germs

CHICAGO - The U.S. government on Tuesday lifted a 2014 temporary ban on funding research involving the flu and other pathogens in which scientists deliberately make them more transmissible or more deadly.

The ban covered federal funding for any new socalled “gain-of-function” experiments that enhance pathogens such as Avian influenza, SARS and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS viruses.

It followed a series of safety breaches at federal laboratories involving the handling of anthrax and avian flu that raised questions about lab safety at high-security national laboratories.

The concern with “gain-of-function” research is that while the work may produce useful insights about how a pathogen might naturally evolve and become more deadly, laboratory-enhanced pathogens could be used for biowarfare or bioterrorism if they fell into the wrong hands.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement on Tuesday that such work is important to help scientists understand and develop effective countermeasures “against rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health.”

NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said in a statement the funding ban was lifted after the Department of Health and Human Services issued a framework to guide decisions over work involving enhanced pathogens with the potential to cause a pandemic.

That framework lays out an extensive review process for federally funded research on enhanced pathogens - considering both the benefits of the research and the potential safety risks. The process will involve several levels of review with a wide range of experts.

Dr. Sam Stanley, president of Stony Brook University and chairman of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which provided guidance on the new policy, noted the world’s deadliest pathogens are evolving naturally. He said research is needed to understand and prevent devastating pandemics, such as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic that killed some 50 million people.

“I believe nature is the ultimate bioterrorist and we need to do all we can to stay one step ahead,” Stanley said in an email, adding “basic research on these agents by laboratories that have shown they can do this work safely is key to global security.”

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said he is concerned the framework does not include a clear process for analyzing the risks and benefits of such experiments. (rtr) A Hungarian worker holds an ampule filled with vaccine against the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu.

Bali News

International

Ariane 62 with two boosters

IBP/net

ment for the Ariane 5 government and commercial launcher is scheduled for mid-2020.

It is being developed in two versions, Ariane 62 with two boosters and Ariane 64 with four.

These will be capable of carrying payloads of around 5 tonnes and 11 tonnes respectively into

AMLAPURA — Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, specifically visited the Mount Agung Monitor Post in Rendang subdistrict on Friday (Dec. 22). Luhut’s arrival with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and BI Governor Agus Marto Wardoyo as well as related ministry officials is meant to have a closer look at the latest condition of Mount Agung activities. After speaking directly to the Head of Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), Kasbani, Coordinating Minister Luhut ensured nothing has changed on the agenda of the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group (AM IMF-WBG) on October 8-14, 2018.

Luhut explained that based on information from ministerial authorities and related institutions, the warning alert level (level IV) only applies within the radius of 8-10 km from Mount Agung. Outside the area, all activities in the Bali region remain normal, so that it is safe for the activities of tourist visits and various government agendas having been scheduled to take place in Bali, including the implementation of the Annual Meeting of IMFWBG 2018. “Nothing needs to be afraid of when coming to Bali .The dangerous area is only within the radius of 8-10 km. Do not make Bali tourism worried. Moreover, it will threaten the implementation of annual meeting. President instructed that nothing can be changed in international agenda having been scheduled in Bali,” said Luhut.

For the sake of Annual Meeting of the IMF - WBG 2018, the National Committee continues to monitor the activities of Mount Agung and always communicates with the Meeting Team Secretariat (MTS) of the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Group.

The National Committee of AM IMF - WBG 2018 ensured that all the preparations for the imple-

mentation of the activity are in line with the plans and targets set together with the MTS. To ensure the preparation, MTS will visit Bali on January 29 to February 9, 2018 for discussion with the National Committee, particularly related to security and risk mitigation aspects of the Mount Agung activities.

Ahead of this international agenda, Luhut said that Indonesia has also made various preparations, including boosting the infrastructure development in Bali such as the construction of underpasses to the airport, Tanjung Benoa cruise terminal and Suwung Landfill. The Annual Meeting of IMF - WBG 2018 is expected to run smoothly and comfortably. “In the long term, good infrastructure will have a positive impact on Bali whose main source of economy depends on tourism sector,” said Luhut.

Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani, added that her ministry as the National Committee also would like to make sure the venue so as to be completely safe. International community is looking at Indonesia’s readiness in preparing the world’s important agenda. One of the aspects seen is certainly the tourism economic activity in Bali.

She did not want there is an impression that Bali is dangerous due to Mount Agung. “We must actively communicate with the international community that Bali is safe. It is important to restore international confidence to Indonesia,” said Sri Mulyani.

She would like to affirm that her ministry continuously campaigns that Bali is safe, not solely for the agenda of Annual Meeting of IMFWBG 2018 but also for restoring public confidence of the world to Bali as a safe tourist destination to be visited. If everything has been recovered, the economy of Balinese people will also recover faster from the downturn due to the impact of Mount Agung eruptions in recent months. (kmb31)

Antara Foto/Nyoman Budhiana/ via REUTERS

Indonesian Minister for Energy Ignasius Jonan (R) stands beside a danger zone map of Mount Agung at Rendang village in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, December 22, 2017.

President Jokowi: Bali safe, please take a vacation to Bali

MANGUPURA - As soon as arriving at the hotel where he stayed during his visit in Bali, President Joko Widodo did not directly take a rest. He preferred to walk to Kuta Beach located just 100 meters from the hotel.

IBP/net

geostationary transfer orbit, a staging post en route to a satellite’s final position.

The milestone, known as Maturity Gate 6.2 on a scale of 15 such progress reviews, “makes it possible to start production on the first Ariane 6 flight model,” ArianeGroup said. (rtr)

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Coordinating Minister Luhut: Annual Meeting of IMF-WBG still to be held in Bali

ArianeGroup to start building first Ariane 6 launcher PARIS - ArianeGroup, the space-launchers joint-venture between Airbus and Safran, has passed an industrial milestone allowing it to move ahead with production of the first Ariane 6, Europe’s next-generation rocket, the company said on Monday.

The first flight of the replace-

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

IBP/file

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan

Arriving on the beach at 17:30, president walked along Kuta Beach with Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Minister of State Secretariate Pratikno, Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, Chief of Presidency Staff Teten Masduki and Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika.

When exploring the beach, president was greeted by domestic and foreign tourists. To the press bureau, president conveyed that the condition of Bali is safe and tourists do not hesitate to spend holidays in Bali.

“This afternoon I was on Kuta Beach that Bali is safe.

We saw that Kuta Beach is very crowded with tourists.

So, if they want to travel to the Island of Bali on this

holiday, Bali remains safe,” said the president.

Moreover, president had made a vlog in the middle of the crowded tourists. “If we look at this, this afternoon I was on Kuta Beach. It was very crowded, just have a look at this, it’s very much crowded and crowded. Really, it’s very crowded,” said the president in his vlog.

After enjoying the beauty of Kuta Beach for 30 minutes, president along with the entourage walked to a shop located in the Kuta area. Not to forget, the president again greeted and accepted many invitations to have selfie from residents and tourists who were on the way to the stall.

In the stall, president enjoyed a menu consisting of cafe latte and fried bananas. Afterwards, he and his entourage returned to the hotel on foot. In the evening, President Jokowi held a limited meeting with the Working Cabinet minister to discuss about tourism. (kmb)

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Bali News

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Tourist visit decreases

World’s largest amphibious aircraft makes maiden flight in China

Lobster price of fishermen catch also drops

NEGARA — The decline in tourist arrivals to Bali also has an impact on fishermen in Jembrana, especially lobster fishermen. Although fishermen have lobster catch, the selling price they get is not as usual. Nearly most of the lobster catches is sold to hotel and restaurant consumers.

Actually, the lobster fishermen recently got a lot of catch. However, when sold to collectors, the price is not as expected. “The price drops drastically whereas we are quite happy to get many catches. It is said that many consumers reducing their lobster demand,” sighed Samsuri, one of the fishermen at Pengambengan village.

Lobsters weighing 2 ounces and over are usually expensive. “Each kilogram is sold for IDR 400,000 and remains half of the previous selling price,” he explained. Today, fishermen also have to sort the lobsters that will be captured in order to comply with the rules namely above two ounces.

This condition is also justified by a lobster collector, Amranah.

The purchase of lobster from fishermen has decreased substantially, especially for the needs of hotel and restaurant business in Bali. “Now, there is rarely an order. It is said the hotel demand is declining. You see the pond remains full,” he said

while showing if his pond is still filled with many lobsters.

He is worried if the lobsters are not immediately purchased, they will die. Although they can still be sold, the price is much cheaper. In order that the business can still go on, Amranah sells lobster to local grilled seafood stalls. Amranah who has been lobster collector for many years taking from traditional fishermen claimed to keep running the business even though he will suffer losses. He and traditional fishermen have been working together for years. He is confident the lobster market will return good. “It’s a pity on fishermen, they get a lot of catch, but the orders reduce. I am still accommodating their catch so they still have income,” he said.

Aside from catching fish, traditional fishermen in Jembrana also catch lobster. They catch fish by traditional boat and spread the nets.

When it’s hard to get lobster, they will keep looking for fish catches to meet their daily needs. (kmb26)

13

MERLYN MANOS / AFP

This photo taken on December 23, 2017 shows residents looking at the Cabuyao Bridge, which collapsed after being hit by Tropical Storm Tembin, in Barangay Dalama, Tubod, Lanao del Norte on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Vietnam braces for typhoon as Philippine toll rises to 230 dead

HANOI - Authorities in Vietnam prepared to move a million people from low-lying areas along the south coast on Monday as a typhoon approached after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people.

Although fishermen have lobster catch, the selling price they get is not as usual.

IBP/olo

After long closed due to landslide

Tibumana waterfall now re-opened

BANGLI — Tibumana waterfall object at Bangun Lemah Kawan hamlet, Apuan, Susut, is reopened for visitors after temporarily closed due to landslides. Reopening of the tourist attraction offering the beauty of waterfall with altitude of approximately 25 meters was made after the landslide materials were cleaned by local residents.

Chief of Bangun Lemah Kawan customary village, I Ketut Sinah, when confirmed on Friday (Dec. 22) said the village apparatus along with other residents have cleaned the materials of landslide that occurred next to the waterfall a few days ago.

Today, the tourist attraction is re-opened for visitors.

“We have opened the tourist object since a few days ago. So, we welcome tourists making a visit to the Tibumana waterfall,” he said.

According to Sinah, after the reopening of the tourist object, quite a lot of domestic and foreign tourists have come to make a visit. Moreover, the number of visits has been normal as before the

closure due to landslides.

“The visit remains to be dominated by foreign tourists. Domestic tourists do exist but only a few.

If calculated, the average number of tourist visits to Tibumana waterfall object reaches 60-70 people per day. Before the closure, the number of tourist visit was also in the same range as that number,” he said.

However, until now his authority has not been able to collect levies by charging admission tickets to visitors. To collect ticket, according to Sinah, it must have a legal instrument. Meanwhile, so far the village has not submitted it and there is no formation of tourism awareness group. On that condition, he just imposes donation for visitors making a visit.

“We just ask entering visitors to give voluntary donations. We never set particular amount of donation. How much they give, we are glad to receive.

Most importantly, they give it sincerely,” affirmed Sinah. (kmb41)

Typhoon Tembin is expected to slam into Vietnam late on Monday after bringing misery to the predominantly Christian Philippines just before Christmas.

Vietnam’s disaster prevention committee said 74,000 people had been moved to safety from vulnerable areas, while authorities in 15

provinces and cities were prepared to move more than 1 million.

The government ordered that oil rigs and vessels be protected and it warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not venture out to sea.

“Vietnam must ensure the safety of its oil rigs and vessels.

If necessary, close the oil rigs and evacuate workers,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was quoted as saying on a government website.

Schools were ordered to close in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, a working day in Vietnam.

On Sunday, Tembin hit the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, parts of which are contested by several countries, including Vietnam and China.

No casualties were reported in outposts there.

Vietnam, like the Philippines, is regularly battered by typhoons that form over the warm waters of the Pacific and barrel westwards into land.

Tembin will be the 16th major storm to hit Vietnam this year. The storms and other disasters have left 390 people dead or missing, according to official figures.

SCORES MISSING In the Philippines, rescue workers were still struggling to reach some remote areas hit by floods and landslides that Tembin’s downpours brought, as the death toll climbed to more than 230.

Scores of people are missing.

The full extent of the devastation was only becoming clear as the most remote areas were being

reached.

Health worker Arturo Simbajon said nearly the entire coastal village of Anungan on the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao island had been wiped out by a barrage of broken logs, boulders and mud that swept down a river and out to sea.

“Only the mosque was left standing,” Simbajon said.

“People were watching the rising sea but did not expect the water to come from behind them.”

Manuel Luis Ochotorena, head of regional disaster agency, said he expected the death toll to rise.

“Many areas in Zamboanga peninsula are still without power and communications, some towns are cut off due to collapsed bridges, floods and landslides,” he said.

Tens of thousands of people on Mindanao have been displaced by the storm, which struck late on Friday.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued.

But disaster officials said many villagers had ignored warnings this time to get out coastal areas and move away from riverbanks.

In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless in the central Philippines. (rtr)

BEIJING - China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, performed its maiden flight on Sunday from an airport on the shores of the South China Sea, the latest step in a military modernisation programme.

China has stepped up research on advanced military equipment as it adopts a more muscular approach to territorial disputes in places such as the disputed South China Sea, rattling nerves in the Asia-Pacific region and the United States.

State television showed live images of the AG600 lifting off from Zhuhai airport in the southern province of Guangdong, which sits on the South China Sea coast.

Xinhua news agency said the aircraft was the “protector spirit of the sea, islands and reefs”.

It had previously been scheduled to make its first flight earlier this year but it is unclear why it was delayed after ground tests took place in April.

State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) has spent almost eight years developing the aircraft, which is roughly the size of a Boeing Co 737 and is designed to carry out marine rescues and battle forest fires.

However, state media has also noted its potential use in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei all have overlapping claims.

The AG600’s chief designer, Huang Lingcai, was quoted in the official China Daily earlier this month as saying it can make round trips without refuelling from the southern island province of Hainan to James Shoal, claimed by China but which is located close to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.

Powered by four turboprop engines, the AG600 can carry 50 people during maritime search-and-rescue missions, and can scoop up 12 metric tons of water within 20 seconds for fire fighting trips, according to state media.

The aircraft has received 17 orders so far from Chinese government departments and Chinese companies. It has a maximum flight range of 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes.

It can use conventional airports and also land and take-off from the sea.

China is in the midst of a massive military modernisation programme, ranging from testing anti-satellite missiles to building stealth fighters and the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, to add to an existing one bought from Ukraine. (rtr)

12

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

BUSINESS An investor’s best friend: China’s booming pet market sparks deals

PINGYANG - Li Mingjie is a pet industry investor’s dream. The 23-year-old ecommerce worker spares little expense to make his pooch happy. “I’ll happily splash out on my dog,” Li told Reuters as he walked his brown poodle Coco in Pingyang, a town on China’s east coast. “She is like a child to me.” He is far from alone in China these days.

The growth in the middle class, a massive move to urbanization and other demographic changes - such as growing numbers of elderly, and people getting married and having children later than before - have been turning this into not just a pet-owning society but also one that is prepared to lavish money on them.

Chinese shoppers are set to spend 46.3 billion yuan ($7 billion) on their pets by 2022, up from 17.5 billion yuan this year as the market grows at around an annual 20 percent, according to estimates from Euromonitor. The U.S. market may be much bigger with an estimated $44.4 billion in sales this year but it is only growing around 2 percent a year.

The surge in Chinese demand is not only great news for global pet food behemoths such as Mars Inc and Nestle SA , but also rapidly growing Chinese pet food and product companies, as well as entrepreneurs setting up everything from dog salons for grooming to fancy pet hotels.

It is an amazing shift in a country where owning pets was once banned for being too much of a bourgeois pursuit under revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and where - despite protests - there is still an annual dog-meat festival in the southern Chinese town of Yulin.

“There is huge growth potential in the Chinese market,” said Liu Yonghao, the chairman of Chinese company New Hope Group at a recent event in Beijing, noting that younger people especially were developing closer bonds with their pets. “They are willing to spend lots of money on the pets because they have become like part of the family,” he said.

New Hope joined a consortium, including Singapore’s state-owned

REUTERS/Jason Lee

Pet dogs and staff members wait to watch a movie in a cinema for dogs at Cute Beast Pet Resort in Beijing, China December 22, 2017. Picture taken December 22, 2017.

BONE-SHAPED CENTER Pingyang, where Li lives with his poodle, has big ambitions in China’s pet economy. The county, which is near the wealthy city of Wenzhou and has a population of almost one million, is among a slew of places responding to Beijing’s call to create 1,000 “specialty towns” by 2020 in industries from cloud computing to chocolate. In

Pingyang’s case the theme is pets.

It has a dog bone-shaped visitor center and pet factories, while locals said there were plans for pet-themed hotels and a retail hub.

On a recent visit, though, it was clear the concept has a way to go.

The visitor centre was shut and locals admitted the ‘pet town’ had yet to fully catch on. Nationally though, there is no doubt that the pet economy is thriving – helped by demographic shifts.

“Chinese society is aging, we’re experiencing declining birth rates, we have empty nesters and the youngsters from those empty nests,” said Zhang Tianli, cofounder of Hosen Capital, adding pets were helping people find “spiritual sustenance”. The pet products boom has stoked imports and boosted local business.

Among the Chinese companies that are now challenging the global giants, in China at least, are Shanghai Bridge Petcare, Sunsun Group and Navarch. Yantai China Pet Foods has seen its stock climb close to 60 percent since it listed in Shenzhen in August.

Smaller entrepreneurs abound

too. They include DogWhere.com, which offers pet holidays and runs a boutique pet hotel in Beijing with all sorts of amenities for the pets - including a swimming pool, pet-sized bedrooms and a cinema.

Owners can spend thousands of dollars per stay. “We once looked after a dog in our hotel for 47 nights, at a total costs of 17,000 yuan ($2,585),” said the platform’s marketing manager Wang Chao.

Xiao Xudong in Beijing runs a popular grooming service for “Westies” - West Highland White Terriers - and says his increasingly youthful clientele fly in from regions as remote as far-western Xinjiang and the southwestern Yunnan province.

“Young people hold a different consumption view to the older generations,” said Xiao, 45. “They think a lot about how their pets are groomed and are willing to splash out on them.”

PET BATHING Despite the growth, Chinese pet ownership is still just getting started. Some pets are mistreated and there is a lack of know-how

about vaccinations and sterilization. Strict rules about pet food imports also stoke a grey market trade. Earlier this month, police arrested gang members who were selling poisoned darts used to kill dogs that were then sold to restaurants, the official Xinhua news reported, opening the debate once more about the practice of eating dog meat.

Back in Pingyang’s state-sanctioned pet town, the owner of one pet shop said the shift towards pet ownership was nonetheless stark.

“Ten years ago this place was basically farmland and people were eating dogs, now they don’t eat them as much and have started to see them as pets,” he said.

In the shop, Wang Jing, 26, was getting her two dogs - Can Can and Niu Niu - their regular bath.

She said she spent around 2,000 yuan a month on them, mostly on food, but that it was all worth it when she arrived home each day.

“Otherwise when you come back there’s nobody there,” she said.

“But if you have a dog then it jumps on you happily as soon as you open the door.”(rtr)

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

5

Indonesia holds cabinet meeting in Bali as volcano threatens tourism

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo will on Friday hold his cabinet meeting on the holiday island of Bali in a bid to reassure visitors that there is nothing to worry about from the rumbling Mount Agung volcano. Authorities last month raised the alert status of Mount Agung in northeastern Bali to the highest level, imposing an exclusion zone of up to 10 km (6 miles) around its crater as it spewed clouds of ash, steam, and other volcanic material.

Widodo will take the unusual step of gathering his cabinet in Bali as part of government efforts to assure visitors that the island is safe to come to and to stave off a major drop off in visitor numbers during the upcoming holiday season.

“For those who have plans to vacation in Bali, there’s no need to doubt or be worried about the status of Mount Agung, Bali is very safe to visit,” Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan said in a Twitter message after visiting an observatory overlooking the volcano, before the cabinet meeting. President Widodo is expected to make a statement after the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet usually meets at the state palace in the capital Jakarta or on its outskirts in Bogor. The relatively small island of Bali, famous for its beaches and temples, has an outsized importance for Indonesian

fund Temasek and private equity firm Hosen Capital that just closed a $1 billion deal to acquire Australian pet food maker Real Pet Food Co, with the aim of bringing the firm’s brands to China. The growing popularity of pets is turning China into a magnet for local and global firms.

Thomas Kwan, chief investment officer of Hong Kong-based fund manager Harvest Global, said China’s pet market would be one of his personal picks for 2018 as consumers looked to shift up to premium products. The questions pet owners are asking now: “Can you buy them healthy foods? Can you give them a good lifestyle?” he said.

Bali News

International

tourism. In January-September, Bali received 4.5 million foreign tourist arrivals, nearly half of the 10.5 million arrivals in Indonesia.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said this week that Indonesia was expecting an estimated 15 trillion rupiah ($1.11 billion) in lost income and around 1 million fewer tourists because of the volcano, according to daily newspaper Kompas.

Many business operators and hotels have seen cancellations since authorities first raised the alert in September, and most expect the holiday season to be slower than in previous years. Thousands of tourists were left stranded late last month when a volcanic ash cloud forced the closure of Bali’s airport for several days. Countries like Australia and Singapore have advised their citizens to be cautious when travelling to Bali.(rtr)

Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/ via REUTERS

Indonesia President Joko Widodo (C) sits with his ministers while visiting a cafe in Kuta beach, Bali, Indonesia, December 22, 2017.

Babakan Hamlet of Sukawati Has a Myriad of Puppeteers

Babakan hamlet in Sukawati, Gianyar, is known for having many puppeteers and this hamlet located adjacent to the Sukawati Art Market is also famous as being home to many art maestros. Wayan Wija is one puppeteer whose name is familiar to art lovers from his distinct telling fhte storu of Tantri.

Wayan Nartha and Nyoman Granyam are two other well known

pupeterrs from Bebakan hamlet.

Granyam became famous after President Soekarna invited him to stage a puppet show at the Ubud Palace in 1962. There are many other puppeteers from this hamlet who are well known in the area and in many other parts of Bali and beyond.

I Ketut Sudiana, who is a descendant of a Nyoman Nartha,

explained that Babakan is famous as a puppet art village. From time immemorial puppeteers have thrived here. Currently there are approximately 20 third generation puppeteers in Babakan hamlet who perform various types of puppet shows. “Babakan Sukawati became a center of art during the kingdom era”, he said.

The people of Babakan have

remained highly creative developing all manner of traditional puppets with Wayan Madra being a famous example. Many foreign scholars come to Babakan to research Balinese puppets, explained this lecturer from the Faculty of Performing Arts, ISI Denpasar.

Babakan village is also famous for silver handicrafts, drawing many buyers. The late Wayan Sobrat was a famous bade tower (used to haul body in cremation ceremony) and lion artist and his skills have been passed down to his children who still make these beautiful sculptures.

Most interestingly, the Babakan community is still diligent in preserving their palm-leaf manuscripts as a source of inspiration for their performing arts. The legacy of the palm-leaf manuscript is also varied.

“The manuscripts are a very useful reference for puppeteers for the story material in puppet performances.

Sometimes specific stories are requested so they must be prepared carefully”, said Sudiana.

Today, there are many young creative puppeteer, explained this winner of the Bali Little Puppeteer 1983, because the arte environment of the hamlet is

conducive to creativity. He hiself became a puppeteer because he was encouraged by his family, like when he had to perform in the Bali Little Puppeteer Festival to represent Gianyar district. In the competition held by Cultural Development and Advisory Council (Listibya), this Gianyarborn man on March 29, 1970 won first place. From then on, he became a famous child puppeteer who received many requests to perform.

At Sukawati village, there are many puppeteers with different specific skills. Puppeteers must pay attention to rhetoric, the dialogue of the puppets when arguing and dancing technique of the puppets is also very important. There are many young puppeteers today even outside of Sukawati who are enticed by the many arts including in this one art form.

In addition to actively performing and making puppets, Sudiana also teaches in the Puppetry Department of the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar. “In the past, most puppet craftsmen were also a puppeteers. Today, many art lovers also become craftsmen of puppets”, he concluded. (kmb)

6

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

W

RLD

Guatemala to move embassy to Jerusalem, backing Trump

GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on Sunday he had given instructions to move the Central American country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a few days after his government backed the United States in a row over the city’s status.

In a short post on his official Facebook account, Morales said he decided to move the embassy from Tel Aviv after talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

This month U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing decades of U.S. policy and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as their capital.

The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions.

International

On Thursday, 128 countries defied Trump by backing a non-binding U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem.

Guatemala and neighboring Honduras were two of only a handful of countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution on Jerusalem.

The United States is an important source of assistance to Guatemala and Honduras, and Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that supported the U.N. resolution.

Morales, a former television comedian with an important base of conservative Christian support, earlier this year became embroiled in a bitter spat with the United Nations when a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body in Guatemala tried to impeach him.

Although Morales avoided impeachment, he failed in an attempt to expel the head of the body, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, after criticism from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. (rtr)

ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP

This file picture taken on November 28, 2016 shows Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shaking hands during a joint press conference after signing bilateral agreements at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

Guatemala’s President Morales announced in his Twitter account on December 24, 2017 he gave instructions to his foreign minister that the country’s embassy in Israel should be moved to Jerusalem.

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

11

All Jakarta citizens should feel peace: Governor

REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Keiko, Sachi and Hiro Fujimori, daughters and son of former President Alberto Fujimori arrive to visit their father after Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned him who was serving a 25-year prison sentence, at Centenario hospital in Lima, Peru, December 24, 2017.

Peru president pardons ex-leader Fujimori; foes take to streets

LIMA - Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori late on Sunday, triggering Christmas Eve street clashes as protesters denounced the decision as part of a crude political deal.

The decision clears Fujimori of convictions for human rights crimes and graft when his rightwing government was in power from 1990 to 2000, and could define Kuczynski’s legacy and rewrite political alliances.

At least two ministers in Kuczynski’s cabinet who objected to the pardon told him they wanted to resign, and Kuczynski might reshuffle the cabinet as early as this week, a government source said.

Two ruling party lawmakers quit his party as his political group planned next steps.

Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker who vowed as a candidate not to pardon Fujimori, based his decision on a medical review that found Fujimori suffered from “a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease”, according to a statement from the president’s office.

Late on Sunday, Fujimori was taken to hospital from prison by ambulance to treat a drop in blood pressure and abnormal heart beat.

But many in Peru saw the pardon as part of a quid pro quo. Three days earlier, Fujimori’s loyalists - led by his lawmaker son Kenji - unexpectedly saved Kuczynski from a vote in Congress that nearly removed him from office.

In a video Kenji shared on social media, a gray-haired Fujimori, connected to tubes in hospital, was seen smiling after reading Kuczynski’s announcement of the pardon on a cellphone with Kenji.

“To save his own skin he cut a deal with Fujimori’s supporters to infamously pardon a corrupt

killer,” said Veronika Mendoza, a leftist leader who competed against Kuczynski in last year’s presidential election.

Kuczynski’s center-right government has repeatedly denied that a pardon for Fujimori was part of political negotiations.

‘BEST PRESIDENT’ EVER

Fujimori is a deeply divisive figure in Peru. While many consider him a corrupt dictator, others credit him with ending an economic crisis and bloody leftist insurgency when in power.

“He’s the best president Peru ever had,” said Maria Luisa Cuculiza, a friend and former minister of Fujimori, adding that he no longer had any political ambitions.

“He doesn’t want to return to politics. He just wants to be a good grandfather,” Cuculiza told Reuters by telephone.

Police fired teargas at scores of Fujimori’s opponents in downtown Lima, who waved pictures of the victims of a bloody counterinsurgency campaign during his term.

Officers in riot gear stood guard at Kuczynski’s house in the capital’s San Isidro financial district as protesters called for the march to make its way there.

Fujimori’s family and supporters cheered the pardon as a long-overdue vindication for a misunderstood hero.

Holding a vigil at the hospital where Fujimori remained late on Sunday, his followers waved banners reading “Freedom for Fujimori!”

But the pardon was a blow to the relatives of victims, prosecutors and human rights activists who helped put Fujimori behind bars in a lengthy judicial process that earned Peru global plaudits for fighting impunity. (rtr)

JAKARTA - Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan expressed hope that the calm and peace at the 2017 Christmas Celebration can be felt by all citizens of Jakarta.

“We hope that the calm and peace which are tonight felt in the Immanuel Church, can also be felt by all Jakarta citizens,” Anies said when delivering a message to the congregation of GPIB Immanuel church here on Sunday.

On the occasion, Anies was among others accompanied by Deputy Jakarta governor Sandiaga Uno. The Jakarta governor further hoped that Christmas 2017 also becomes a momentum to keep the unity that Jakarta can be a comfortable home for its residents.

“We want to ensure that Jakarta is home to every citizen of Jakarta. Let us together build a calm atmosphere, peace and true unity,” he stated.

Anies also wishes a marry Christmas for Christians who attend Christmas Eve Mass in this church.

“We want to greet all the congregation to congratulate Christmas Day. May peace, happiness, shade always accompany you all in this sacred night,” he remarked.

A total of 118 security personnel were assigned to guard the area around the church. (ant)

Mother`s Day also Day of Mamas: President Jokowi RAJA AMPAT - National Mother`s Day that falls on Dec 22 is also the day for all mamas of Papua, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). “As Papua is in Indonesia, Papua`s mamas are Indonesian women,” the head of state noted in his address while celebrating National Mother`s Day on the Waisai Torang Cinta Beach, here, Friday.

The 89th Mother`s Day is themed “Empowered Women, Great Indonesia.” “Be the mothers of the nation, hi, Indonesian Women.

Happy Mothers` Day,” Jokowi noted. Mother`s Day is special for Indonesia, as it is an important celebration for Indonesian women, the country, and the nation.

“Women in Indonesia should be further empowered since they had participated in the fight for the country`s independence. Hence, I laud the theme of this Mother`s Day,” he stated. The president noted that his Working Cabinet had several women, as there were nine women ministers.

“Hence, in the Working Cabinet, there are nine female ministers.

In fact, Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with the largest number of female ministers,” he remarked.

The country`s success in the development of women and culture is led by Minister Puan Maharani and the success of its diplomacy is owing to the efforts of Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi. “In the field of finance, (the country) is led by Sri Mulyani and in maritime affairs and fisheries by Susi Pudjiastuti, a `scary` minister,” he remarked.

Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has been successful in reducing the number of forest fires in Indonesia, Rini Soemarno in the state enterprises field, Nila F. Moeloek in the field of health, and Khofifah Indar Parawansa in the social affairs area, he pointed out. “There is women`s empowerment and child protection minister, Mama Yo, or Prof. Yohana Yembise from Papua,” he added. (ant)

Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS

An Indonesian bomb squad policeman holds a rifle as he examines a church before Christmas mass prayer in Bandung, Indonesia, December 23, 2017 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Picture taken December 23, 2017.

No incident reported during X’mas services

JAKARTA - Police Chief General Tito Karnavian has not received any information related to the incident during Christmas Eve celebrations throughout Indonesia. “Until now (Sunday) there has been no information about an incident, meaning that it is safe,” said Karnavian in Jakarta Sunday. Karnavian said there was some traffic density flowing homecoming holiday Christmas and New Year on a number of segments such as Java`s Northern Coastal route (Pantura), Puncak Bogor and highway to Bandung.

But officers were able to unravel vehicle congestion and will arrange, as well as evaluate in the field.

Karnavian expressed gratitude to Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto,

the central government and local government that supported the implementation of the security of Christmas and New Year celebrations in order to run smoothly.

The Polri chief ensured the police and TNI officers assisted by local government will secure the celebration of Christmas and New Year to end especially the custodian of places of worship.

On that occasion, the Chief of Police with Indonesian Defense (TNI) Commander and Metro Jaya Police Chief Inspector General Idham Azis visited Menteng HKBP Central Jakarta Church was greeted

by Central Jakarta Police Chief and Dandim Central Jakarta. After checking security, Chief of Police and TNI Commander proceeded to Imanuel Church at Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur Central Jakarta.

The last group of Polri and TNI officers reviewed the security at Central Jakarta Cathedral Church which will be greeted by the church officials. (ant)

10

Destination

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Serena Williams set to launch comeback in Abu Dhabi

GIANYAR - Sumita village in Gianyar, is famous for its wood carving products. Local carvers have a lot of imagination that makes their products very distinctive with their motifs often consisting of small reliefs. Their floral ornamentatin is soft and alive. It is no surprise that people form all over Bali, Indonesia and the world, often order their wood carvings.

Part of what make these woodcarvings unique is the floral ornamentation that is distinct to this village. The floral ornaments include the Chinese, pungel, and karang pandil ornamental style. “As a carver, we create much as painters do, expressing our imagination by transforming inanimate objects into works of art that look alive. All the

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Sumita Village

wood carvers in Sumita village have tremendous artistic talent and never work carelessly”, sid local carver Putu Suyadnyana.

Carving requires great patience and perseverance in order to produce a good piece. The carved works are specifically made for Balinese traditional buildings and include door panels gebyog and gedong style door panels, and lodge and bale dangin or eastern pavilion carvings. Carvings are also made for sacred buildings like shrines and temples. These buildings are all equipped with traditional carvings from pillar, bottom chords, to knee braces, hip rafters, rises, trusses and others. “The uniqueness of Sumita village carvings lie in the harmony of the style of carving shapes, so

that from a distance it does not look too small nor too small close up” explained Suyadnyana.

In addition to floral motifs, door panel carvings also include puppet characters from the Ramayana epic, like Sugriva – Subali or from the Mahabharata epic like the Pandavas figures. The wood used in these carvings is teak that is especially brought in from outside of Bali. Jackfruit wood and champak wood are also used for door panels. Other carvings are made from bangkirai, marbau, camphor and other woods.

Sumita village cis made up of six hamlets: Mulung, Sema, Pande Tengah, Siih and Melayang and has a population of around 480 families -99 percent of whom work in wood carving. Carvers in Sumita village

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began to prosper in the 1990s and virtually all children, teenagers, parents, men and women here can carve. “Although almost everyone can carve, about 80 percent earn their living this way, while the rest work as civil servants, hotel workers, farmers and other odd jobs”, said this father of two sons.

Interestingly, although many of the carvers here are self-taught and some have had the skills passed down to them or learned at art school, the results of their carvings are nearly all the same as if their were a common spirit guiding them. “Carving in Sumita village provides a livelihood for many people and allows people to pay for their children’s tuition” he said.

For many Balinese people, carv-

ing is indeed considered a regular activity, while in the eyes of most foreigners carving is viewed as an artistic attraction. In fact, there are even walking or bicycle tours that pass through Sumita village so that visitors can see this unique activity and the charm of this village.

There are tourist accommodations located within the village so that visitors can enjoy a longer stay in this rural atmosphere. “The potential of Sumita village to become one of Gianyar’s tourism villages, is greatly supported by the precence of the wood carvers” said a hopeful villager. Sumita village is currently renovating a temple relief in the south of the village that is a heritage left from the time of a kingdom. (kmb)

PETER PARKS / AFP

This file photo taken on January 28, 2017, shows Serena Williams of the US hiting a return against Venus Williams of the US during the women’s singles final on day 13 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

ABU DHABI - Twenty-three time grand slam champion Serena Williams will play her first match since the birth of her daughter when she faces off against French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi next week.

The match with be the 36-yearold Williams’ first in almost a year as she prepares to try to defend her Australian Open crown in January, a title she captured earlier this year while pregnant.

“I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September,” Williams

said in a statement on the championship’s website.

Williams and Ostapenko will be the first women to participate in the 10th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, which has long marked the beginning of the men’s global tennis season.

“I am excited and honoured to be making my comeback as part of

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WITHDRAWN Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi due to ongoing fitness problems, the world

way in order to be ready,” Nadal told the Mubadala World Tennis Championships website.

“For this reason, I have sadly announced to the organisers and now to you fans that I won’t play this time in Abu Dhabi.”

Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic have also withdrawn from the tournament, which is held from Dec. 28-30.

The Australian Open, the first major of the new season, begins on Jan. 15. (rtr)

Chess federation says Israel excluded from Saudi-hosted match

B.BP.001.11.17.0000581

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the first women to participate in the event,” Williams added.

The championship runs from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

number one has said.

The 16-time grand slam champion, who won the French and U.S. Opens earlier this year, withdrew from the ATP Finals in November after struggling with a knee injury during his round-robin defeat by Belgian David Goffin. The 31-yearold Spaniard, who has previously played at the tournament on eight occasions, will be replaced by compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut.

“It was a tough 2017 and I need to take my calendar in a different

IBP/net

Chess federation says Israel excluded from Saudi-hosted match.

ATHENS - Israeli players have been denied visas to participate in a speed chess championship hosted by Saudi Arabia this week, a vice president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) said on Sunday.

Seven Israeli players had requested visas for the tournament on Dec. 26-30. It would have marked the first time Saudi Arabia had publicly hosted Israelis as the Gulf state does not recognize Israel and there are no formal ties between them.

Israel Gelfer, vice president of FIDE, whose Secretariat is based in Athens, told Reuters in an email that visas for the Israeli players “have not been issued and will not be issued”.

He said the tournament would go ahead as planned. It was not immediately clear if other delegations had been excluded but players from Qatar had suggested they may have been rejected. Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication said in a statement that more than 180 players would participate but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel Chess Federation Spokesman Lior Aizenberg said efforts were still being made “by various parties” to ensure the Israeli players took part.

“The event is not a world championship if they prevent chess players

from several countries from taking part,” Aizenberg told Reuters.

“Every chess player should have the right to participate in an event on the basis of professional criteria, regardless of their passports, their place of issue or the stamps they bear.”

Aizenberg said FIDE should ensure Israeli players could compete in international events and that the Israeli federation was considering all options, including legal action and holding an international competition in Israel for players excluded from the Saudi match.

FIDE had said in November it was undertaking a “huge effort” to ensure all players were granted visas. (rtr)

8

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Sp rt Man City make it 17 straight wins and a 13-point lead

LONDON - Manchester City extended their winning sequence to 17 and their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points with a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth on Saturday as Manchester United were held 2-2 at Leicester City and champions Chelsea suffered a goalless stalemate at Everton. Pep Guardiola’s City slickers began their unprecedented run of domestic league triumphs away to Bournemouth in August when a 97th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling sealed the points.

They found the south coast side an easier nut to crack this time with Sterling again on target as City continued to turn the title race into a procession. Sergio Aguero also scored twice and Danilo completed the rout as record-breaking City reached Christmas with 55 points and 60 goals. They have now scored 101 goals in 2017, becoming the first top-flight team to do so in a calendar year since Liverpool netted 106 throughout 1982.

City are 13 points ahead of Manchester United, who were criticised by manager Jose Mourinho for “childish” mistakes in defence and attack after conceding an equaliser in the fourth minute of added time at Leicester.

Two goals by Juan Mata had put them in front after Jamie Vardy’s 50th Premier League goal for the home side, and Leicester’s Daniel Amartey was sent off.

But with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard having missed clear chances and Chris Smalling limping, United allowed Harry Maguire to poke home Marc Albrighton’s cross. “It was an easy match to win,” Mourinho said. “Childish in their box and childish in our box, we were punished.” Chelsea, three points behind United, were left frustrated at a misty Goodison Park after 25 goal attempts came to nothing. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane also continues to rewrite records, with his seventh hat-trick of the year in all

competitions firing his side to a 3-0 win at Burnley that put the Londoners back above their hosts, and Arsenal, into fifth.

Kane struck a first-half penalty and produced two clinical finishes after the break to equal Alan Shearer’s record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year set in 1995. Arsenal and fourth-placed Liverpool drew 3-3 on Friday. At the other end of the table Newcastle United ended a run of nine league games without a win to beat West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium and move out of the relegation zone.

Marko Arnautovic opened the scoring for West Ham but Henri Saivet, Mo Diame and Christian Atsu were on target for the Magpies who moved up to 15th with 18 points, a point ahead of West Ham who slipped down to 17th. Stoke City arrested their worrying slide down the table to beat second-from-bottom West Bromwich Albion 3-1 while bottom club Swansea City, who sacked manager Paul Clement this week, drew 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace.

Bournemouth joined West Brom and Swansea in the drop zone. Brighton and Hove Albion eased their relegation fears as Pascal Gross scored the only goal against Watford to give the Seagulls a first win in eight games. Watford have now lost four in a row and five of their last six.

Huddersfield Town remained comfortably in midtable as they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 at Southampton. City needed 27 minutes to take the lead against Bournemouth and it was fitting that Aguero was the man to score it with a diving header as he registered his 100th home goal for the club.

“This side are always trying to find the striker,” Aguero said. “I only have to score the goal!” City are unbeaten at home in 2017 and when Sterling made it 2-0 shortly after halftime for his 12th league goal of the season it was just a matter what the winning margin would be. Aguero headed his second and substitute Danilo joined the party within three minutes of coming on. (rtr)

REUTERS/Andrew Yates

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scores their second goal past Bournemouth’s Asmir Begovic

Lukaku proves he can offer more than just goals for United

REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

Juventus’ Wojciech Szczesny and Medhi Benatia celebrate after the match

Juve beat Roma as Hamsik breaks Maradona’s Napoli record

Italian champions Juventus stayed firmly in the hunt for a seventh successive league title after a first-half goal by central defender Medhi Benatia gave them a 1-0 home win over AS Roma in a pulsating Serie A clash on Saturday.

The result kept Juve second on 44 points from 18 games, one behind leaders Napoli, who held on to pole position with a 3-2 home defeat of Sampdoria that saw their Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik break Diego Maradona’s club scoring record.

Elsewhere, AC Milan’s dreadful form continued after a 2-0 home defeat by Atalanta left them 11th at the Christmas break, with the once mighty European giants winning only one of their last six league games.

Third-placed Inter Milan are five points off the pace after a shock 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo, their second successive reverse after a 3-1 home defeat by Udinese, while Roma stayed fourth seven points behind Napoli with a game in hand.

Juventus thoroughly dominated and stretched their perfect record against Roma at the Allianz Stadium to seven wins, while they have also scored in 24 of the last 25 games against the side from the Italian capital.

Benatia drilled in an 18th-minute winner during a frantic few seconds in the box as Alisson parried a Giorgio Chiellini header and deflected Benatia’s follow-up on to the crossbar before the Moroccan defender finally scored. It was no

more than Juve deserved as Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic missed early chances while Gonzalo Higuain blasted a sitter over the bar shortly after the break.

Roma came to life in the latter stages as Edin Dzeko blazed his shot high and right back Alessandro Florenzi struck the woodwork in the 81st minute. Bosnia’s footballer of the year Miralem Pjanic rattled the upright for Juventus with a long-range effort in stoppage time before Roma substitute Patrik Schick missed a gilt-edged chance at the death.

The Czech raced clear of his marker and with only Wojciech Szczesny to beat, shot straight at the Juventus goalkeeper much to the relief of the home faithful.

Earlier on Saturday, Napoli twice came from behind to beat Sampdoria with all the goals coming in a spectacular first half that saw Hamsik net the winner with his landmark 116th goal for the club.

It eclipsed the 115 netted by the iconic Argentine Maradona, whose record had stood since 1991.

Inter were top of the table two rounds ago but a sudden dip in form saw them slip up in the title race as a 34th-minute goal by Diego Falcinelli gave struggling Sassuolo a memorable home win.

Mauro Icardi missed a 49thminute penalty for Inter, whose city rivals AC Milan also suffered a miserable day after goals by Bryan Cristante and Josip Ilicic gave Atalanta the win at San Siro. (rtr)

Manchester United have created fewer chances than Southampton in the Premier League this season, but after Romelu Lukaku’s performance as a creator against Leicester City, Jose Mourinho may have found a new way for United to stay in the title race. United made a blistering start to the season, winning four of their opening five league games, scoring 16 goals in the process, with the attack spearheaded by new striker Lukaku.

However, after scoring 10 in his first nine games in all competitions, the goals have dried up for the Belgian, with Mourinho’s side now trailing league leaders Manchester City by 13 points.

United welcome Burnley to Old Trafford in the league on Tuesday

with a busy festive schedule kicking in - the perfect time for Lukaku to have found a new facet to his game when not scoring.

On Saturday, the striker fulfilled an unfamiliar role, with no other player at the King Power Stadium creating more chances for team mates. “Lukaku’s role has been different,” former United defender Gary Neville said. “The chances that he has created should have killed the game off. His contribution will please Mourinho.”

Lukaku created two big chances for Martial and Jesse Lingard with defence-splitting passes, but both were not converted which cost United as Leicester snatched a last-gasp point.

Such profligacy against Burnley would mean that United’s hold on

second place in the standings would be under threat, as Chelsea lurk three points behind in third.

Paul Pogba has five assists to his name despite having played just nine Premier League games, but such ability on the ball makes him a marked man. Lukaku, on the other hand, is a relative unknown in the creativity department. Having created just three big chances all season prior to Saturday, Lukaku proved he can adapt his game to give Mourinho more options.

Over a busy festive period, where any slip up by runaway leaders Manchester City could see United at least put pressure on their rivals, Lukaku could silence his doubters in other ways than just scoring goals. (rtr)

Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku reacts after a missed chance

REUTERS/David Klein

Wilshere looking to seal regular first-team spot at Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is targeting a regular spot in the starting line-up for Premier League games following his solid performance in Friday’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool, the England international has said.

The 25-year-old, who started all but one of Arsenal’s Europa League fixtures so far, marked his third consecutive league start of the season against the Merseyside club after five previous appearances as a substitute.

“I feel good and I have said for ages that I want to be playing in the Premier League,” Wilshere told British media. “I’ve played a lot of games in the Europa League and built my fitness up.

“I was patient and we’ve now got a few injuries and I’ve managed to get a few games in but I am happy and I want to stay in the team now.

“It’s a busy schedule over Christmas. There are a lot of games where we are going to need all of the squad so I am happy.”

The draw at the Emirates left Arsenal in sixth position, behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference, ahead of Thursday’s trip to 16th-placed Crystal Palace. (rtr)

9

8

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Sp rt Man City make it 17 straight wins and a 13-point lead

LONDON - Manchester City extended their winning sequence to 17 and their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points with a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth on Saturday as Manchester United were held 2-2 at Leicester City and champions Chelsea suffered a goalless stalemate at Everton. Pep Guardiola’s City slickers began their unprecedented run of domestic league triumphs away to Bournemouth in August when a 97th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling sealed the points.

They found the south coast side an easier nut to crack this time with Sterling again on target as City continued to turn the title race into a procession. Sergio Aguero also scored twice and Danilo completed the rout as record-breaking City reached Christmas with 55 points and 60 goals. They have now scored 101 goals in 2017, becoming the first top-flight team to do so in a calendar year since Liverpool netted 106 throughout 1982.

City are 13 points ahead of Manchester United, who were criticised by manager Jose Mourinho for “childish” mistakes in defence and attack after conceding an equaliser in the fourth minute of added time at Leicester.

Two goals by Juan Mata had put them in front after Jamie Vardy’s 50th Premier League goal for the home side, and Leicester’s Daniel Amartey was sent off.

But with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard having missed clear chances and Chris Smalling limping, United allowed Harry Maguire to poke home Marc Albrighton’s cross. “It was an easy match to win,” Mourinho said. “Childish in their box and childish in our box, we were punished.” Chelsea, three points behind United, were left frustrated at a misty Goodison Park after 25 goal attempts came to nothing. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane also continues to rewrite records, with his seventh hat-trick of the year in all

competitions firing his side to a 3-0 win at Burnley that put the Londoners back above their hosts, and Arsenal, into fifth.

Kane struck a first-half penalty and produced two clinical finishes after the break to equal Alan Shearer’s record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year set in 1995. Arsenal and fourth-placed Liverpool drew 3-3 on Friday. At the other end of the table Newcastle United ended a run of nine league games without a win to beat West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium and move out of the relegation zone.

Marko Arnautovic opened the scoring for West Ham but Henri Saivet, Mo Diame and Christian Atsu were on target for the Magpies who moved up to 15th with 18 points, a point ahead of West Ham who slipped down to 17th. Stoke City arrested their worrying slide down the table to beat second-from-bottom West Bromwich Albion 3-1 while bottom club Swansea City, who sacked manager Paul Clement this week, drew 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace.

Bournemouth joined West Brom and Swansea in the drop zone. Brighton and Hove Albion eased their relegation fears as Pascal Gross scored the only goal against Watford to give the Seagulls a first win in eight games. Watford have now lost four in a row and five of their last six.

Huddersfield Town remained comfortably in midtable as they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 at Southampton. City needed 27 minutes to take the lead against Bournemouth and it was fitting that Aguero was the man to score it with a diving header as he registered his 100th home goal for the club.

“This side are always trying to find the striker,” Aguero said. “I only have to score the goal!” City are unbeaten at home in 2017 and when Sterling made it 2-0 shortly after halftime for his 12th league goal of the season it was just a matter what the winning margin would be. Aguero headed his second and substitute Danilo joined the party within three minutes of coming on. (rtr)

REUTERS/Andrew Yates

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scores their second goal past Bournemouth’s Asmir Begovic

Lukaku proves he can offer more than just goals for United

REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

Juventus’ Wojciech Szczesny and Medhi Benatia celebrate after the match

Juve beat Roma as Hamsik breaks Maradona’s Napoli record

Italian champions Juventus stayed firmly in the hunt for a seventh successive league title after a first-half goal by central defender Medhi Benatia gave them a 1-0 home win over AS Roma in a pulsating Serie A clash on Saturday.

The result kept Juve second on 44 points from 18 games, one behind leaders Napoli, who held on to pole position with a 3-2 home defeat of Sampdoria that saw their Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik break Diego Maradona’s club scoring record.

Elsewhere, AC Milan’s dreadful form continued after a 2-0 home defeat by Atalanta left them 11th at the Christmas break, with the once mighty European giants winning only one of their last six league games.

Third-placed Inter Milan are five points off the pace after a shock 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo, their second successive reverse after a 3-1 home defeat by Udinese, while Roma stayed fourth seven points behind Napoli with a game in hand.

Juventus thoroughly dominated and stretched their perfect record against Roma at the Allianz Stadium to seven wins, while they have also scored in 24 of the last 25 games against the side from the Italian capital.

Benatia drilled in an 18th-minute winner during a frantic few seconds in the box as Alisson parried a Giorgio Chiellini header and deflected Benatia’s follow-up on to the crossbar before the Moroccan defender finally scored. It was no

more than Juve deserved as Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic missed early chances while Gonzalo Higuain blasted a sitter over the bar shortly after the break.

Roma came to life in the latter stages as Edin Dzeko blazed his shot high and right back Alessandro Florenzi struck the woodwork in the 81st minute. Bosnia’s footballer of the year Miralem Pjanic rattled the upright for Juventus with a long-range effort in stoppage time before Roma substitute Patrik Schick missed a gilt-edged chance at the death.

The Czech raced clear of his marker and with only Wojciech Szczesny to beat, shot straight at the Juventus goalkeeper much to the relief of the home faithful.

Earlier on Saturday, Napoli twice came from behind to beat Sampdoria with all the goals coming in a spectacular first half that saw Hamsik net the winner with his landmark 116th goal for the club.

It eclipsed the 115 netted by the iconic Argentine Maradona, whose record had stood since 1991.

Inter were top of the table two rounds ago but a sudden dip in form saw them slip up in the title race as a 34th-minute goal by Diego Falcinelli gave struggling Sassuolo a memorable home win.

Mauro Icardi missed a 49thminute penalty for Inter, whose city rivals AC Milan also suffered a miserable day after goals by Bryan Cristante and Josip Ilicic gave Atalanta the win at San Siro. (rtr)

Manchester United have created fewer chances than Southampton in the Premier League this season, but after Romelu Lukaku’s performance as a creator against Leicester City, Jose Mourinho may have found a new way for United to stay in the title race. United made a blistering start to the season, winning four of their opening five league games, scoring 16 goals in the process, with the attack spearheaded by new striker Lukaku.

However, after scoring 10 in his first nine games in all competitions, the goals have dried up for the Belgian, with Mourinho’s side now trailing league leaders Manchester City by 13 points.

United welcome Burnley to Old Trafford in the league on Tuesday

with a busy festive schedule kicking in - the perfect time for Lukaku to have found a new facet to his game when not scoring.

On Saturday, the striker fulfilled an unfamiliar role, with no other player at the King Power Stadium creating more chances for team mates. “Lukaku’s role has been different,” former United defender Gary Neville said. “The chances that he has created should have killed the game off. His contribution will please Mourinho.”

Lukaku created two big chances for Martial and Jesse Lingard with defence-splitting passes, but both were not converted which cost United as Leicester snatched a last-gasp point.

Such profligacy against Burnley would mean that United’s hold on

second place in the standings would be under threat, as Chelsea lurk three points behind in third.

Paul Pogba has five assists to his name despite having played just nine Premier League games, but such ability on the ball makes him a marked man. Lukaku, on the other hand, is a relative unknown in the creativity department. Having created just three big chances all season prior to Saturday, Lukaku proved he can adapt his game to give Mourinho more options.

Over a busy festive period, where any slip up by runaway leaders Manchester City could see United at least put pressure on their rivals, Lukaku could silence his doubters in other ways than just scoring goals. (rtr)

Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku reacts after a missed chance

REUTERS/David Klein

Wilshere looking to seal regular first-team spot at Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is targeting a regular spot in the starting line-up for Premier League games following his solid performance in Friday’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool, the England international has said.

The 25-year-old, who started all but one of Arsenal’s Europa League fixtures so far, marked his third consecutive league start of the season against the Merseyside club after five previous appearances as a substitute.

“I feel good and I have said for ages that I want to be playing in the Premier League,” Wilshere told British media. “I’ve played a lot of games in the Europa League and built my fitness up.

“I was patient and we’ve now got a few injuries and I’ve managed to get a few games in but I am happy and I want to stay in the team now.

“It’s a busy schedule over Christmas. There are a lot of games where we are going to need all of the squad so I am happy.”

The draw at the Emirates left Arsenal in sixth position, behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference, ahead of Thursday’s trip to 16th-placed Crystal Palace. (rtr)

9

10

Destination

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Serena Williams set to launch comeback in Abu Dhabi

GIANYAR - Sumita village in Gianyar, is famous for its wood carving products. Local carvers have a lot of imagination that makes their products very distinctive with their motifs often consisting of small reliefs. Their floral ornamentatin is soft and alive. It is no surprise that people form all over Bali, Indonesia and the world, often order their wood carvings.

Part of what make these woodcarvings unique is the floral ornamentation that is distinct to this village. The floral ornaments include the Chinese, pungel, and karang pandil ornamental style. “As a carver, we create much as painters do, expressing our imagination by transforming inanimate objects into works of art that look alive. All the

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wood carvers in Sumita village have tremendous artistic talent and never work carelessly”, sid local carver Putu Suyadnyana.

Carving requires great patience and perseverance in order to produce a good piece. The carved works are specifically made for Balinese traditional buildings and include door panels gebyog and gedong style door panels, and lodge and bale dangin or eastern pavilion carvings. Carvings are also made for sacred buildings like shrines and temples. These buildings are all equipped with traditional carvings from pillar, bottom chords, to knee braces, hip rafters, rises, trusses and others. “The uniqueness of Sumita village carvings lie in the harmony of the style of carving shapes, so

that from a distance it does not look too small nor too small close up” explained Suyadnyana.

In addition to floral motifs, door panel carvings also include puppet characters from the Ramayana epic, like Sugriva – Subali or from the Mahabharata epic like the Pandavas figures. The wood used in these carvings is teak that is especially brought in from outside of Bali. Jackfruit wood and champak wood are also used for door panels. Other carvings are made from bangkirai, marbau, camphor and other woods.

Sumita village cis made up of six hamlets: Mulung, Sema, Pande Tengah, Siih and Melayang and has a population of around 480 families -99 percent of whom work in wood carving. Carvers in Sumita village

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began to prosper in the 1990s and virtually all children, teenagers, parents, men and women here can carve. “Although almost everyone can carve, about 80 percent earn their living this way, while the rest work as civil servants, hotel workers, farmers and other odd jobs”, said this father of two sons.

Interestingly, although many of the carvers here are self-taught and some have had the skills passed down to them or learned at art school, the results of their carvings are nearly all the same as if their were a common spirit guiding them. “Carving in Sumita village provides a livelihood for many people and allows people to pay for their children’s tuition” he said.

For many Balinese people, carv-

ing is indeed considered a regular activity, while in the eyes of most foreigners carving is viewed as an artistic attraction. In fact, there are even walking or bicycle tours that pass through Sumita village so that visitors can see this unique activity and the charm of this village.

There are tourist accommodations located within the village so that visitors can enjoy a longer stay in this rural atmosphere. “The potential of Sumita village to become one of Gianyar’s tourism villages, is greatly supported by the precence of the wood carvers” said a hopeful villager. Sumita village is currently renovating a temple relief in the south of the village that is a heritage left from the time of a kingdom. (kmb)

PETER PARKS / AFP

This file photo taken on January 28, 2017, shows Serena Williams of the US hiting a return against Venus Williams of the US during the women’s singles final on day 13 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

ABU DHABI - Twenty-three time grand slam champion Serena Williams will play her first match since the birth of her daughter when she faces off against French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi next week.

The match with be the 36-yearold Williams’ first in almost a year as she prepares to try to defend her Australian Open crown in January, a title she captured earlier this year while pregnant.

“I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September,” Williams

said in a statement on the championship’s website.

Williams and Ostapenko will be the first women to participate in the 10th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, which has long marked the beginning of the men’s global tennis season.

“I am excited and honoured to be making my comeback as part of

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WITHDRAWN Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi due to ongoing fitness problems, the world

way in order to be ready,” Nadal told the Mubadala World Tennis Championships website.

“For this reason, I have sadly announced to the organisers and now to you fans that I won’t play this time in Abu Dhabi.”

Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic have also withdrawn from the tournament, which is held from Dec. 28-30.

The Australian Open, the first major of the new season, begins on Jan. 15. (rtr)

Chess federation says Israel excluded from Saudi-hosted match

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the first women to participate in the event,” Williams added.

The championship runs from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

number one has said.

The 16-time grand slam champion, who won the French and U.S. Opens earlier this year, withdrew from the ATP Finals in November after struggling with a knee injury during his round-robin defeat by Belgian David Goffin. The 31-yearold Spaniard, who has previously played at the tournament on eight occasions, will be replaced by compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut.

“It was a tough 2017 and I need to take my calendar in a different

IBP/net

Chess federation says Israel excluded from Saudi-hosted match.

ATHENS - Israeli players have been denied visas to participate in a speed chess championship hosted by Saudi Arabia this week, a vice president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) said on Sunday.

Seven Israeli players had requested visas for the tournament on Dec. 26-30. It would have marked the first time Saudi Arabia had publicly hosted Israelis as the Gulf state does not recognize Israel and there are no formal ties between them.

Israel Gelfer, vice president of FIDE, whose Secretariat is based in Athens, told Reuters in an email that visas for the Israeli players “have not been issued and will not be issued”.

He said the tournament would go ahead as planned. It was not immediately clear if other delegations had been excluded but players from Qatar had suggested they may have been rejected. Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication said in a statement that more than 180 players would participate but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel Chess Federation Spokesman Lior Aizenberg said efforts were still being made “by various parties” to ensure the Israeli players took part.

“The event is not a world championship if they prevent chess players

from several countries from taking part,” Aizenberg told Reuters.

“Every chess player should have the right to participate in an event on the basis of professional criteria, regardless of their passports, their place of issue or the stamps they bear.”

Aizenberg said FIDE should ensure Israeli players could compete in international events and that the Israeli federation was considering all options, including legal action and holding an international competition in Israel for players excluded from the Saudi match.

FIDE had said in November it was undertaking a “huge effort” to ensure all players were granted visas. (rtr)

6

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

W

RLD

Guatemala to move embassy to Jerusalem, backing Trump

GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on Sunday he had given instructions to move the Central American country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a few days after his government backed the United States in a row over the city’s status.

In a short post on his official Facebook account, Morales said he decided to move the embassy from Tel Aviv after talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

This month U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing decades of U.S. policy and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as their capital.

The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions.

International

On Thursday, 128 countries defied Trump by backing a non-binding U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem.

Guatemala and neighboring Honduras were two of only a handful of countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution on Jerusalem.

The United States is an important source of assistance to Guatemala and Honduras, and Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that supported the U.N. resolution.

Morales, a former television comedian with an important base of conservative Christian support, earlier this year became embroiled in a bitter spat with the United Nations when a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body in Guatemala tried to impeach him.

Although Morales avoided impeachment, he failed in an attempt to expel the head of the body, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, after criticism from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. (rtr)

ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP

This file picture taken on November 28, 2016 shows Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shaking hands during a joint press conference after signing bilateral agreements at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

Guatemala’s President Morales announced in his Twitter account on December 24, 2017 he gave instructions to his foreign minister that the country’s embassy in Israel should be moved to Jerusalem.

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

11

All Jakarta citizens should feel peace: Governor

REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Keiko, Sachi and Hiro Fujimori, daughters and son of former President Alberto Fujimori arrive to visit their father after Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned him who was serving a 25-year prison sentence, at Centenario hospital in Lima, Peru, December 24, 2017.

Peru president pardons ex-leader Fujimori; foes take to streets

LIMA - Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori late on Sunday, triggering Christmas Eve street clashes as protesters denounced the decision as part of a crude political deal.

The decision clears Fujimori of convictions for human rights crimes and graft when his rightwing government was in power from 1990 to 2000, and could define Kuczynski’s legacy and rewrite political alliances.

At least two ministers in Kuczynski’s cabinet who objected to the pardon told him they wanted to resign, and Kuczynski might reshuffle the cabinet as early as this week, a government source said.

Two ruling party lawmakers quit his party as his political group planned next steps.

Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker who vowed as a candidate not to pardon Fujimori, based his decision on a medical review that found Fujimori suffered from “a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease”, according to a statement from the president’s office.

Late on Sunday, Fujimori was taken to hospital from prison by ambulance to treat a drop in blood pressure and abnormal heart beat.

But many in Peru saw the pardon as part of a quid pro quo. Three days earlier, Fujimori’s loyalists - led by his lawmaker son Kenji - unexpectedly saved Kuczynski from a vote in Congress that nearly removed him from office.

In a video Kenji shared on social media, a gray-haired Fujimori, connected to tubes in hospital, was seen smiling after reading Kuczynski’s announcement of the pardon on a cellphone with Kenji.

“To save his own skin he cut a deal with Fujimori’s supporters to infamously pardon a corrupt

killer,” said Veronika Mendoza, a leftist leader who competed against Kuczynski in last year’s presidential election.

Kuczynski’s center-right government has repeatedly denied that a pardon for Fujimori was part of political negotiations.

‘BEST PRESIDENT’ EVER

Fujimori is a deeply divisive figure in Peru. While many consider him a corrupt dictator, others credit him with ending an economic crisis and bloody leftist insurgency when in power.

“He’s the best president Peru ever had,” said Maria Luisa Cuculiza, a friend and former minister of Fujimori, adding that he no longer had any political ambitions.

“He doesn’t want to return to politics. He just wants to be a good grandfather,” Cuculiza told Reuters by telephone.

Police fired teargas at scores of Fujimori’s opponents in downtown Lima, who waved pictures of the victims of a bloody counterinsurgency campaign during his term.

Officers in riot gear stood guard at Kuczynski’s house in the capital’s San Isidro financial district as protesters called for the march to make its way there.

Fujimori’s family and supporters cheered the pardon as a long-overdue vindication for a misunderstood hero.

Holding a vigil at the hospital where Fujimori remained late on Sunday, his followers waved banners reading “Freedom for Fujimori!”

But the pardon was a blow to the relatives of victims, prosecutors and human rights activists who helped put Fujimori behind bars in a lengthy judicial process that earned Peru global plaudits for fighting impunity. (rtr)

JAKARTA - Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan expressed hope that the calm and peace at the 2017 Christmas Celebration can be felt by all citizens of Jakarta.

“We hope that the calm and peace which are tonight felt in the Immanuel Church, can also be felt by all Jakarta citizens,” Anies said when delivering a message to the congregation of GPIB Immanuel church here on Sunday.

On the occasion, Anies was among others accompanied by Deputy Jakarta governor Sandiaga Uno. The Jakarta governor further hoped that Christmas 2017 also becomes a momentum to keep the unity that Jakarta can be a comfortable home for its residents.

“We want to ensure that Jakarta is home to every citizen of Jakarta. Let us together build a calm atmosphere, peace and true unity,” he stated.

Anies also wishes a marry Christmas for Christians who attend Christmas Eve Mass in this church.

“We want to greet all the congregation to congratulate Christmas Day. May peace, happiness, shade always accompany you all in this sacred night,” he remarked.

A total of 118 security personnel were assigned to guard the area around the church. (ant)

Mother`s Day also Day of Mamas: President Jokowi RAJA AMPAT - National Mother`s Day that falls on Dec 22 is also the day for all mamas of Papua, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). “As Papua is in Indonesia, Papua`s mamas are Indonesian women,” the head of state noted in his address while celebrating National Mother`s Day on the Waisai Torang Cinta Beach, here, Friday.

The 89th Mother`s Day is themed “Empowered Women, Great Indonesia.” “Be the mothers of the nation, hi, Indonesian Women.

Happy Mothers` Day,” Jokowi noted. Mother`s Day is special for Indonesia, as it is an important celebration for Indonesian women, the country, and the nation.

“Women in Indonesia should be further empowered since they had participated in the fight for the country`s independence. Hence, I laud the theme of this Mother`s Day,” he stated. The president noted that his Working Cabinet had several women, as there were nine women ministers.

“Hence, in the Working Cabinet, there are nine female ministers.

In fact, Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with the largest number of female ministers,” he remarked.

The country`s success in the development of women and culture is led by Minister Puan Maharani and the success of its diplomacy is owing to the efforts of Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi. “In the field of finance, (the country) is led by Sri Mulyani and in maritime affairs and fisheries by Susi Pudjiastuti, a `scary` minister,” he remarked.

Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has been successful in reducing the number of forest fires in Indonesia, Rini Soemarno in the state enterprises field, Nila F. Moeloek in the field of health, and Khofifah Indar Parawansa in the social affairs area, he pointed out. “There is women`s empowerment and child protection minister, Mama Yo, or Prof. Yohana Yembise from Papua,” he added. (ant)

Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS

An Indonesian bomb squad policeman holds a rifle as he examines a church before Christmas mass prayer in Bandung, Indonesia, December 23, 2017 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Picture taken December 23, 2017.

No incident reported during X’mas services

JAKARTA - Police Chief General Tito Karnavian has not received any information related to the incident during Christmas Eve celebrations throughout Indonesia. “Until now (Sunday) there has been no information about an incident, meaning that it is safe,” said Karnavian in Jakarta Sunday. Karnavian said there was some traffic density flowing homecoming holiday Christmas and New Year on a number of segments such as Java`s Northern Coastal route (Pantura), Puncak Bogor and highway to Bandung.

But officers were able to unravel vehicle congestion and will arrange, as well as evaluate in the field.

Karnavian expressed gratitude to Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto,

the central government and local government that supported the implementation of the security of Christmas and New Year celebrations in order to run smoothly.

The Polri chief ensured the police and TNI officers assisted by local government will secure the celebration of Christmas and New Year to end especially the custodian of places of worship.

On that occasion, the Chief of Police with Indonesian Defense (TNI) Commander and Metro Jaya Police Chief Inspector General Idham Azis visited Menteng HKBP Central Jakarta Church was greeted

by Central Jakarta Police Chief and Dandim Central Jakarta. After checking security, Chief of Police and TNI Commander proceeded to Imanuel Church at Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur Central Jakarta.

The last group of Polri and TNI officers reviewed the security at Central Jakarta Cathedral Church which will be greeted by the church officials. (ant)

12

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

BUSINESS An investor’s best friend: China’s booming pet market sparks deals

PINGYANG - Li Mingjie is a pet industry investor’s dream. The 23-year-old ecommerce worker spares little expense to make his pooch happy. “I’ll happily splash out on my dog,” Li told Reuters as he walked his brown poodle Coco in Pingyang, a town on China’s east coast. “She is like a child to me.” He is far from alone in China these days.

The growth in the middle class, a massive move to urbanization and other demographic changes - such as growing numbers of elderly, and people getting married and having children later than before - have been turning this into not just a pet-owning society but also one that is prepared to lavish money on them.

Chinese shoppers are set to spend 46.3 billion yuan ($7 billion) on their pets by 2022, up from 17.5 billion yuan this year as the market grows at around an annual 20 percent, according to estimates from Euromonitor. The U.S. market may be much bigger with an estimated $44.4 billion in sales this year but it is only growing around 2 percent a year.

The surge in Chinese demand is not only great news for global pet food behemoths such as Mars Inc and Nestle SA , but also rapidly growing Chinese pet food and product companies, as well as entrepreneurs setting up everything from dog salons for grooming to fancy pet hotels.

It is an amazing shift in a country where owning pets was once banned for being too much of a bourgeois pursuit under revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and where - despite protests - there is still an annual dog-meat festival in the southern Chinese town of Yulin.

“There is huge growth potential in the Chinese market,” said Liu Yonghao, the chairman of Chinese company New Hope Group at a recent event in Beijing, noting that younger people especially were developing closer bonds with their pets. “They are willing to spend lots of money on the pets because they have become like part of the family,” he said.

New Hope joined a consortium, including Singapore’s state-owned

REUTERS/Jason Lee

Pet dogs and staff members wait to watch a movie in a cinema for dogs at Cute Beast Pet Resort in Beijing, China December 22, 2017. Picture taken December 22, 2017.

BONE-SHAPED CENTER Pingyang, where Li lives with his poodle, has big ambitions in China’s pet economy. The county, which is near the wealthy city of Wenzhou and has a population of almost one million, is among a slew of places responding to Beijing’s call to create 1,000 “specialty towns” by 2020 in industries from cloud computing to chocolate. In

Pingyang’s case the theme is pets.

It has a dog bone-shaped visitor center and pet factories, while locals said there were plans for pet-themed hotels and a retail hub.

On a recent visit, though, it was clear the concept has a way to go.

The visitor centre was shut and locals admitted the ‘pet town’ had yet to fully catch on. Nationally though, there is no doubt that the pet economy is thriving – helped by demographic shifts.

“Chinese society is aging, we’re experiencing declining birth rates, we have empty nesters and the youngsters from those empty nests,” said Zhang Tianli, cofounder of Hosen Capital, adding pets were helping people find “spiritual sustenance”. The pet products boom has stoked imports and boosted local business.

Among the Chinese companies that are now challenging the global giants, in China at least, are Shanghai Bridge Petcare, Sunsun Group and Navarch. Yantai China Pet Foods has seen its stock climb close to 60 percent since it listed in Shenzhen in August.

Smaller entrepreneurs abound

too. They include DogWhere.com, which offers pet holidays and runs a boutique pet hotel in Beijing with all sorts of amenities for the pets - including a swimming pool, pet-sized bedrooms and a cinema.

Owners can spend thousands of dollars per stay. “We once looked after a dog in our hotel for 47 nights, at a total costs of 17,000 yuan ($2,585),” said the platform’s marketing manager Wang Chao.

Xiao Xudong in Beijing runs a popular grooming service for “Westies” - West Highland White Terriers - and says his increasingly youthful clientele fly in from regions as remote as far-western Xinjiang and the southwestern Yunnan province.

“Young people hold a different consumption view to the older generations,” said Xiao, 45. “They think a lot about how their pets are groomed and are willing to splash out on them.”

PET BATHING Despite the growth, Chinese pet ownership is still just getting started. Some pets are mistreated and there is a lack of know-how

about vaccinations and sterilization. Strict rules about pet food imports also stoke a grey market trade. Earlier this month, police arrested gang members who were selling poisoned darts used to kill dogs that were then sold to restaurants, the official Xinhua news reported, opening the debate once more about the practice of eating dog meat.

Back in Pingyang’s state-sanctioned pet town, the owner of one pet shop said the shift towards pet ownership was nonetheless stark.

“Ten years ago this place was basically farmland and people were eating dogs, now they don’t eat them as much and have started to see them as pets,” he said.

In the shop, Wang Jing, 26, was getting her two dogs - Can Can and Niu Niu - their regular bath.

She said she spent around 2,000 yuan a month on them, mostly on food, but that it was all worth it when she arrived home each day.

“Otherwise when you come back there’s nobody there,” she said.

“But if you have a dog then it jumps on you happily as soon as you open the door.”(rtr)

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

5

Indonesia holds cabinet meeting in Bali as volcano threatens tourism

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo will on Friday hold his cabinet meeting on the holiday island of Bali in a bid to reassure visitors that there is nothing to worry about from the rumbling Mount Agung volcano. Authorities last month raised the alert status of Mount Agung in northeastern Bali to the highest level, imposing an exclusion zone of up to 10 km (6 miles) around its crater as it spewed clouds of ash, steam, and other volcanic material.

Widodo will take the unusual step of gathering his cabinet in Bali as part of government efforts to assure visitors that the island is safe to come to and to stave off a major drop off in visitor numbers during the upcoming holiday season.

“For those who have plans to vacation in Bali, there’s no need to doubt or be worried about the status of Mount Agung, Bali is very safe to visit,” Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan said in a Twitter message after visiting an observatory overlooking the volcano, before the cabinet meeting. President Widodo is expected to make a statement after the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet usually meets at the state palace in the capital Jakarta or on its outskirts in Bogor. The relatively small island of Bali, famous for its beaches and temples, has an outsized importance for Indonesian

fund Temasek and private equity firm Hosen Capital that just closed a $1 billion deal to acquire Australian pet food maker Real Pet Food Co, with the aim of bringing the firm’s brands to China. The growing popularity of pets is turning China into a magnet for local and global firms.

Thomas Kwan, chief investment officer of Hong Kong-based fund manager Harvest Global, said China’s pet market would be one of his personal picks for 2018 as consumers looked to shift up to premium products. The questions pet owners are asking now: “Can you buy them healthy foods? Can you give them a good lifestyle?” he said.

Bali News

International

tourism. In January-September, Bali received 4.5 million foreign tourist arrivals, nearly half of the 10.5 million arrivals in Indonesia.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said this week that Indonesia was expecting an estimated 15 trillion rupiah ($1.11 billion) in lost income and around 1 million fewer tourists because of the volcano, according to daily newspaper Kompas.

Many business operators and hotels have seen cancellations since authorities first raised the alert in September, and most expect the holiday season to be slower than in previous years. Thousands of tourists were left stranded late last month when a volcanic ash cloud forced the closure of Bali’s airport for several days. Countries like Australia and Singapore have advised their citizens to be cautious when travelling to Bali.(rtr)

Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/ via REUTERS

Indonesia President Joko Widodo (C) sits with his ministers while visiting a cafe in Kuta beach, Bali, Indonesia, December 22, 2017.

Babakan Hamlet of Sukawati Has a Myriad of Puppeteers

Babakan hamlet in Sukawati, Gianyar, is known for having many puppeteers and this hamlet located adjacent to the Sukawati Art Market is also famous as being home to many art maestros. Wayan Wija is one puppeteer whose name is familiar to art lovers from his distinct telling fhte storu of Tantri.

Wayan Nartha and Nyoman Granyam are two other well known

pupeterrs from Bebakan hamlet.

Granyam became famous after President Soekarna invited him to stage a puppet show at the Ubud Palace in 1962. There are many other puppeteers from this hamlet who are well known in the area and in many other parts of Bali and beyond.

I Ketut Sudiana, who is a descendant of a Nyoman Nartha,

explained that Babakan is famous as a puppet art village. From time immemorial puppeteers have thrived here. Currently there are approximately 20 third generation puppeteers in Babakan hamlet who perform various types of puppet shows. “Babakan Sukawati became a center of art during the kingdom era”, he said.

The people of Babakan have

remained highly creative developing all manner of traditional puppets with Wayan Madra being a famous example. Many foreign scholars come to Babakan to research Balinese puppets, explained this lecturer from the Faculty of Performing Arts, ISI Denpasar.

Babakan village is also famous for silver handicrafts, drawing many buyers. The late Wayan Sobrat was a famous bade tower (used to haul body in cremation ceremony) and lion artist and his skills have been passed down to his children who still make these beautiful sculptures.

Most interestingly, the Babakan community is still diligent in preserving their palm-leaf manuscripts as a source of inspiration for their performing arts. The legacy of the palm-leaf manuscript is also varied.

“The manuscripts are a very useful reference for puppeteers for the story material in puppet performances.

Sometimes specific stories are requested so they must be prepared carefully”, said Sudiana.

Today, there are many young creative puppeteer, explained this winner of the Bali Little Puppeteer 1983, because the arte environment of the hamlet is

conducive to creativity. He hiself became a puppeteer because he was encouraged by his family, like when he had to perform in the Bali Little Puppeteer Festival to represent Gianyar district. In the competition held by Cultural Development and Advisory Council (Listibya), this Gianyarborn man on March 29, 1970 won first place. From then on, he became a famous child puppeteer who received many requests to perform.

At Sukawati village, there are many puppeteers with different specific skills. Puppeteers must pay attention to rhetoric, the dialogue of the puppets when arguing and dancing technique of the puppets is also very important. There are many young puppeteers today even outside of Sukawati who are enticed by the many arts including in this one art form.

In addition to actively performing and making puppets, Sudiana also teaches in the Puppetry Department of the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar. “In the past, most puppet craftsmen were also a puppeteers. Today, many art lovers also become craftsmen of puppets”, he concluded. (kmb)

4

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Bali News

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

Tourist visit decreases

World’s largest amphibious aircraft makes maiden flight in China

Lobster price of fishermen catch also drops

NEGARA — The decline in tourist arrivals to Bali also has an impact on fishermen in Jembrana, especially lobster fishermen. Although fishermen have lobster catch, the selling price they get is not as usual. Nearly most of the lobster catches is sold to hotel and restaurant consumers.

Actually, the lobster fishermen recently got a lot of catch. However, when sold to collectors, the price is not as expected. “The price drops drastically whereas we are quite happy to get many catches. It is said that many consumers reducing their lobster demand,” sighed Samsuri, one of the fishermen at Pengambengan village.

Lobsters weighing 2 ounces and over are usually expensive. “Each kilogram is sold for IDR 400,000 and remains half of the previous selling price,” he explained. Today, fishermen also have to sort the lobsters that will be captured in order to comply with the rules namely above two ounces.

This condition is also justified by a lobster collector, Amranah.

The purchase of lobster from fishermen has decreased substantially, especially for the needs of hotel and restaurant business in Bali. “Now, there is rarely an order. It is said the hotel demand is declining. You see the pond remains full,” he said

while showing if his pond is still filled with many lobsters.

He is worried if the lobsters are not immediately purchased, they will die. Although they can still be sold, the price is much cheaper. In order that the business can still go on, Amranah sells lobster to local grilled seafood stalls. Amranah who has been lobster collector for many years taking from traditional fishermen claimed to keep running the business even though he will suffer losses. He and traditional fishermen have been working together for years. He is confident the lobster market will return good. “It’s a pity on fishermen, they get a lot of catch, but the orders reduce. I am still accommodating their catch so they still have income,” he said.

Aside from catching fish, traditional fishermen in Jembrana also catch lobster. They catch fish by traditional boat and spread the nets.

When it’s hard to get lobster, they will keep looking for fish catches to meet their daily needs. (kmb26)

13

MERLYN MANOS / AFP

This photo taken on December 23, 2017 shows residents looking at the Cabuyao Bridge, which collapsed after being hit by Tropical Storm Tembin, in Barangay Dalama, Tubod, Lanao del Norte on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Vietnam braces for typhoon as Philippine toll rises to 230 dead

HANOI - Authorities in Vietnam prepared to move a million people from low-lying areas along the south coast on Monday as a typhoon approached after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people.

Although fishermen have lobster catch, the selling price they get is not as usual.

IBP/olo

After long closed due to landslide

Tibumana waterfall now re-opened

BANGLI — Tibumana waterfall object at Bangun Lemah Kawan hamlet, Apuan, Susut, is reopened for visitors after temporarily closed due to landslides. Reopening of the tourist attraction offering the beauty of waterfall with altitude of approximately 25 meters was made after the landslide materials were cleaned by local residents.

Chief of Bangun Lemah Kawan customary village, I Ketut Sinah, when confirmed on Friday (Dec. 22) said the village apparatus along with other residents have cleaned the materials of landslide that occurred next to the waterfall a few days ago.

Today, the tourist attraction is re-opened for visitors.

“We have opened the tourist object since a few days ago. So, we welcome tourists making a visit to the Tibumana waterfall,” he said.

According to Sinah, after the reopening of the tourist object, quite a lot of domestic and foreign tourists have come to make a visit. Moreover, the number of visits has been normal as before the

closure due to landslides.

“The visit remains to be dominated by foreign tourists. Domestic tourists do exist but only a few.

If calculated, the average number of tourist visits to Tibumana waterfall object reaches 60-70 people per day. Before the closure, the number of tourist visit was also in the same range as that number,” he said.

However, until now his authority has not been able to collect levies by charging admission tickets to visitors. To collect ticket, according to Sinah, it must have a legal instrument. Meanwhile, so far the village has not submitted it and there is no formation of tourism awareness group. On that condition, he just imposes donation for visitors making a visit.

“We just ask entering visitors to give voluntary donations. We never set particular amount of donation. How much they give, we are glad to receive.

Most importantly, they give it sincerely,” affirmed Sinah. (kmb41)

Typhoon Tembin is expected to slam into Vietnam late on Monday after bringing misery to the predominantly Christian Philippines just before Christmas.

Vietnam’s disaster prevention committee said 74,000 people had been moved to safety from vulnerable areas, while authorities in 15

provinces and cities were prepared to move more than 1 million.

The government ordered that oil rigs and vessels be protected and it warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not venture out to sea.

“Vietnam must ensure the safety of its oil rigs and vessels.

If necessary, close the oil rigs and evacuate workers,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was quoted as saying on a government website.

Schools were ordered to close in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, a working day in Vietnam.

On Sunday, Tembin hit the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, parts of which are contested by several countries, including Vietnam and China.

No casualties were reported in outposts there.

Vietnam, like the Philippines, is regularly battered by typhoons that form over the warm waters of the Pacific and barrel westwards into land.

Tembin will be the 16th major storm to hit Vietnam this year. The storms and other disasters have left 390 people dead or missing, according to official figures.

SCORES MISSING In the Philippines, rescue workers were still struggling to reach some remote areas hit by floods and landslides that Tembin’s downpours brought, as the death toll climbed to more than 230.

Scores of people are missing.

The full extent of the devastation was only becoming clear as the most remote areas were being

reached.

Health worker Arturo Simbajon said nearly the entire coastal village of Anungan on the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao island had been wiped out by a barrage of broken logs, boulders and mud that swept down a river and out to sea.

“Only the mosque was left standing,” Simbajon said.

“People were watching the rising sea but did not expect the water to come from behind them.”

Manuel Luis Ochotorena, head of regional disaster agency, said he expected the death toll to rise.

“Many areas in Zamboanga peninsula are still without power and communications, some towns are cut off due to collapsed bridges, floods and landslides,” he said.

Tens of thousands of people on Mindanao have been displaced by the storm, which struck late on Friday.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued.

But disaster officials said many villagers had ignored warnings this time to get out coastal areas and move away from riverbanks.

In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless in the central Philippines. (rtr)

BEIJING - China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, performed its maiden flight on Sunday from an airport on the shores of the South China Sea, the latest step in a military modernisation programme.

China has stepped up research on advanced military equipment as it adopts a more muscular approach to territorial disputes in places such as the disputed South China Sea, rattling nerves in the Asia-Pacific region and the United States.

State television showed live images of the AG600 lifting off from Zhuhai airport in the southern province of Guangdong, which sits on the South China Sea coast.

Xinhua news agency said the aircraft was the “protector spirit of the sea, islands and reefs”.

It had previously been scheduled to make its first flight earlier this year but it is unclear why it was delayed after ground tests took place in April.

State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) has spent almost eight years developing the aircraft, which is roughly the size of a Boeing Co 737 and is designed to carry out marine rescues and battle forest fires.

However, state media has also noted its potential use in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei all have overlapping claims.

The AG600’s chief designer, Huang Lingcai, was quoted in the official China Daily earlier this month as saying it can make round trips without refuelling from the southern island province of Hainan to James Shoal, claimed by China but which is located close to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.

Powered by four turboprop engines, the AG600 can carry 50 people during maritime search-and-rescue missions, and can scoop up 12 metric tons of water within 20 seconds for fire fighting trips, according to state media.

The aircraft has received 17 orders so far from Chinese government departments and Chinese companies. It has a maximum flight range of 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes.

It can use conventional airports and also land and take-off from the sea.

China is in the midst of a massive military modernisation programme, ranging from testing anti-satellite missiles to building stealth fighters and the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, to add to an existing one bought from Ukraine. (rtr)

14

Science

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

International

U.S. lifts funding ban on studies that enhance dangerous germs

CHICAGO - The U.S. government on Tuesday lifted a 2014 temporary ban on funding research involving the flu and other pathogens in which scientists deliberately make them more transmissible or more deadly.

The ban covered federal funding for any new socalled “gain-of-function” experiments that enhance pathogens such as Avian influenza, SARS and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS viruses.

It followed a series of safety breaches at federal laboratories involving the handling of anthrax and avian flu that raised questions about lab safety at high-security national laboratories.

The concern with “gain-of-function” research is that while the work may produce useful insights about how a pathogen might naturally evolve and become more deadly, laboratory-enhanced pathogens could be used for biowarfare or bioterrorism if they fell into the wrong hands.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement on Tuesday that such work is important to help scientists understand and develop effective countermeasures “against rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health.”

NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said in a statement the funding ban was lifted after the Department of Health and Human Services issued a framework to guide decisions over work involving enhanced pathogens with the potential to cause a pandemic.

That framework lays out an extensive review process for federally funded research on enhanced pathogens - considering both the benefits of the research and the potential safety risks. The process will involve several levels of review with a wide range of experts.

Dr. Sam Stanley, president of Stony Brook University and chairman of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which provided guidance on the new policy, noted the world’s deadliest pathogens are evolving naturally. He said research is needed to understand and prevent devastating pandemics, such as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic that killed some 50 million people.

“I believe nature is the ultimate bioterrorist and we need to do all we can to stay one step ahead,” Stanley said in an email, adding “basic research on these agents by laboratories that have shown they can do this work safely is key to global security.”

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said he is concerned the framework does not include a clear process for analyzing the risks and benefits of such experiments. (rtr) A Hungarian worker holds an ampule filled with vaccine against the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu.

Bali News

International

Ariane 62 with two boosters

IBP/net

ment for the Ariane 5 government and commercial launcher is scheduled for mid-2020.

It is being developed in two versions, Ariane 62 with two boosters and Ariane 64 with four.

These will be capable of carrying payloads of around 5 tonnes and 11 tonnes respectively into

AMLAPURA — Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, specifically visited the Mount Agung Monitor Post in Rendang subdistrict on Friday (Dec. 22). Luhut’s arrival with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and BI Governor Agus Marto Wardoyo as well as related ministry officials is meant to have a closer look at the latest condition of Mount Agung activities. After speaking directly to the Head of Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), Kasbani, Coordinating Minister Luhut ensured nothing has changed on the agenda of the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group (AM IMF-WBG) on October 8-14, 2018.

Luhut explained that based on information from ministerial authorities and related institutions, the warning alert level (level IV) only applies within the radius of 8-10 km from Mount Agung. Outside the area, all activities in the Bali region remain normal, so that it is safe for the activities of tourist visits and various government agendas having been scheduled to take place in Bali, including the implementation of the Annual Meeting of IMFWBG 2018. “Nothing needs to be afraid of when coming to Bali .The dangerous area is only within the radius of 8-10 km. Do not make Bali tourism worried. Moreover, it will threaten the implementation of annual meeting. President instructed that nothing can be changed in international agenda having been scheduled in Bali,” said Luhut.

For the sake of Annual Meeting of the IMF - WBG 2018, the National Committee continues to monitor the activities of Mount Agung and always communicates with the Meeting Team Secretariat (MTS) of the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Group.

The National Committee of AM IMF - WBG 2018 ensured that all the preparations for the imple-

mentation of the activity are in line with the plans and targets set together with the MTS. To ensure the preparation, MTS will visit Bali on January 29 to February 9, 2018 for discussion with the National Committee, particularly related to security and risk mitigation aspects of the Mount Agung activities.

Ahead of this international agenda, Luhut said that Indonesia has also made various preparations, including boosting the infrastructure development in Bali such as the construction of underpasses to the airport, Tanjung Benoa cruise terminal and Suwung Landfill. The Annual Meeting of IMF - WBG 2018 is expected to run smoothly and comfortably. “In the long term, good infrastructure will have a positive impact on Bali whose main source of economy depends on tourism sector,” said Luhut.

Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani, added that her ministry as the National Committee also would like to make sure the venue so as to be completely safe. International community is looking at Indonesia’s readiness in preparing the world’s important agenda. One of the aspects seen is certainly the tourism economic activity in Bali.

She did not want there is an impression that Bali is dangerous due to Mount Agung. “We must actively communicate with the international community that Bali is safe. It is important to restore international confidence to Indonesia,” said Sri Mulyani.

She would like to affirm that her ministry continuously campaigns that Bali is safe, not solely for the agenda of Annual Meeting of IMFWBG 2018 but also for restoring public confidence of the world to Bali as a safe tourist destination to be visited. If everything has been recovered, the economy of Balinese people will also recover faster from the downturn due to the impact of Mount Agung eruptions in recent months. (kmb31)

Antara Foto/Nyoman Budhiana/ via REUTERS

Indonesian Minister for Energy Ignasius Jonan (R) stands beside a danger zone map of Mount Agung at Rendang village in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, December 22, 2017.

President Jokowi: Bali safe, please take a vacation to Bali

MANGUPURA - As soon as arriving at the hotel where he stayed during his visit in Bali, President Joko Widodo did not directly take a rest. He preferred to walk to Kuta Beach located just 100 meters from the hotel.

IBP/net

geostationary transfer orbit, a staging post en route to a satellite’s final position.

The milestone, known as Maturity Gate 6.2 on a scale of 15 such progress reviews, “makes it possible to start production on the first Ariane 6 flight model,” ArianeGroup said. (rtr)

3

Coordinating Minister Luhut: Annual Meeting of IMF-WBG still to be held in Bali

ArianeGroup to start building first Ariane 6 launcher PARIS - ArianeGroup, the space-launchers joint-venture between Airbus and Safran, has passed an industrial milestone allowing it to move ahead with production of the first Ariane 6, Europe’s next-generation rocket, the company said on Monday.

The first flight of the replace-

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

IBP/file

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan

Arriving on the beach at 17:30, president walked along Kuta Beach with Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Minister of State Secretariate Pratikno, Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, Chief of Presidency Staff Teten Masduki and Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika.

When exploring the beach, president was greeted by domestic and foreign tourists. To the press bureau, president conveyed that the condition of Bali is safe and tourists do not hesitate to spend holidays in Bali.

“This afternoon I was on Kuta Beach that Bali is safe.

We saw that Kuta Beach is very crowded with tourists.

So, if they want to travel to the Island of Bali on this

holiday, Bali remains safe,” said the president.

Moreover, president had made a vlog in the middle of the crowded tourists. “If we look at this, this afternoon I was on Kuta Beach. It was very crowded, just have a look at this, it’s very much crowded and crowded. Really, it’s very crowded,” said the president in his vlog.

After enjoying the beauty of Kuta Beach for 30 minutes, president along with the entourage walked to a shop located in the Kuta area. Not to forget, the president again greeted and accepted many invitations to have selfie from residents and tourists who were on the way to the stall.

In the stall, president enjoyed a menu consisting of cafe latte and fried bananas. Afterwards, he and his entourage returned to the hotel on foot. In the evening, President Jokowi held a limited meeting with the Working Cabinet minister to discuss about tourism. (kmb)

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Bali News

International

Activities

International

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

15

Special interview with Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources

Tourism Island should be pollution-free

DENPASAR - Tourism activities in Bali require the support of a great deal of electricity and other sources of energy. However, according to experts, this does not mean that the island of the Gods needs to be producing its own electricity as the pollution that this could cause could be harmful to tourism.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan

IBP/kmb

“Tourism on the Bali Island is quite extraordinary. In my opinion, it is better for electrical energy to be supplied from other regions rather than building power plants here”, said Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan, in a special interview with BaliTV, Bali Post and Indonesia Network in Badung on Thursday night (Dec. 21).

According to Jonan, Bali consumes less electricity that the City of Surabaya which requires approximately 1,000 MW, while Bali only needs about 800 MW. Indonesia has a policy of not depending on other countries for electricity as much as possible, However sourcing electricity from other islands within Indonesia is fine.

“For example, building a steam power plant that is primary fed with coal surely results in pollution regardless of the technology used. The island of tourism should be pollution-free”, explained Jonan.

Jonan added that the addition of electrical energy production in Bali would have to be a renewable source based on the central government’s ‘Bali Clean Enrgy’ declaration. This does not have to be geothermal energy, it could be solar or hydro energy as long as it is not diesel or gaz-fueld like the power plant in Pesanggaran, Denpasar, he said.

“The gas supply to PLTDG Pesanggaran is one of the most expensive in Indonesia. We must try ot find a cheaper way of producing energy. If we cannot find a cheaper way then the cost of electricity will keep going up”, explained Jonan.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, continued Jonan, has been instructed by the president to have every working unit to their utmost possible to benefit the people. This included maintaining upstream oil and gas fields so that their supplies do not decline. The single- price of fuel across Indonesia is also part of this endeavour as it encourages people to switch from to gas stoves to electrical stoves. A total of 4.5 million tons of the 6.5 million ofLPG that is consumed in Indonesia is imported, so by switching to electrify energy independence can be realised. Indonesia does not have its own means of converting the dry gas that this nation has into LPG. “If we switch to electric stoves, the electricity is generated from natural gas produced in Indonesia. Coal is also produced in Indonesia and so are wind-, solar-, hydro-generated energy and so on”, he explained.

In addition to electric stoves, Jonan also encourages people to switch to electric vehicles to reduce fuel consumption. Daily fuel consumption reaches 1.6 - 1.7 million barrels, while domestic production only reaches 800,000 barrels. The government is striving to provide electricity to around 2,500 villages that have none and to another 10,000 other villages that only have perfunctory electricity. Energy-saving solar lamps have also been provided to a number of villages. In terms of mining he continued, the government, is focused on completing the acquisition of shares in Freeport Indonesia as well as improving research results in the field.

“We continue to build up Indonesia in the spirit of diversity. Equity of development is very much needed. Energy, electricity and fuel subsidies are still given to underprivileged or disadvantaged communities”, he concluded. (kmb32)

Grandfather dies of old age in distaster-prone area AMLAPURA - An 82 year old grandfather named Wayan Darpa was found dead by his relatives in Friday (Dec 22). Darpa who had refused to evacuate from Abian Tihing Hamlet, in Amerta Bhuana, Selat located in disaster prone (KBR) III, died of old age. His family had evacuated to Bukit Lalalng, Perangsari Kaja Norht Duda, Selat which is located in distaste pronearea(KBR ) II and had repeatedly pleaded with Darpa to join them,

but he simply refused.

“We only found out that this resident of Amerta Buana was still in his home after he died and his family was having trouble carrying out the funeral procession. We were contacted to help with the burial so we rushed there to help”, said a Pasebaya volunteer, Gede Suartawan.

The steep terrain made it hard for the evacuation team to move the corpse as they had to walk about a mile uphill. Pasebaya Sec-

retary, I Wayan Suara Arsana, said that Darpa’s corpse was disrupted because the road leading to local cemetery had been cut off by floods a few days earlier. Finally, the old man’s corps was moved to a safe location by palaquin and then a Karangasem Hospital ambulance before the funeral process finally took place.

The funeral processionIt passed through circular road in North Duda to Duda and Selat village

before heading for the cemetery.

The burial process went on as usual despite the overcast weather and general anxiety on the slopes of Mount Agung. The death of Darpa was added to the list of people from the disaster-prone areas that have died since the warning level for Mount Agung was raised to level IV. Between September 22nd until a few days ago some 100 people who were evacuated to Buleleng, Klungkung, Denpasar,

Bangli, Gianyar and Karangasem have died. Most of them died in Karangasem.

Head of the Karangasem Social Agency, Ni Ketut Puspa Kumari, explained that nobody died as a direct result of volcanic activity – whether from volcanic ash, gravel or cold lava flows. All of them died due to either old age, chronic illness, asthma and the like. A few evacuees died from stress related illnesses. (kmb31)

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Chinese Government Visits Taman Safari’s Giant Panda Exhibition

On Sunday 26 November 2017, in cooperation of Giant Panda conservation between Indonesia and China, Taman Safari Indonesia received an official visit from the government delegation of the People’s Republic of China led by H.E. Madame Liu Yandong, Deputy Prime Minister (Vice Premier II).

This visit was conducted to feel the experience of being a visitor at the Panda Palace of Indonesia, Taman Safari Bogo and a direct review to see the conditions of a couple Giant Panda, Cai Tao and Hu Chun.

During the official visit of PRC government in the Panda Palace, the symbolic handover of the con-

servation papers of the Giant Panda was given honorably from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) PRC representative directly to Ir. Wiratno, M.sc., Director General of KSDAE Bureau, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, which was continued to the Director of Taman Safari Indonesia.

Also attended in the official review of the Chinese government delegation in Taman Safari Bogor is representative from Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture of Indonesia as the Ministry of Coordination and agenda facilitator of the Government-toGovernment between Indonesia

and China, namely Tb. A. Choesni, Deputy for Coordination for Poverty Reduction and Social Protection, who gave a speech at the event.

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Circus owner sues Kid Rock for using ‘Greatest Show On Earth’ slogan

TAMPA - The company that owns the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which for years had dubbed itself the “Greatest Show on Earth,” filed a lawsuit accusing singer Kid Rock of using the slogan unlawfully.

Feld Entertainment, the production company that owns the longtime circus show and associated intellectual property, said in a lawsuit filed Friday that singer Robert Ritchie, known professionally as Kid Rock, and Live Nation Entertainment were infringing the circus’ “celebrated and valuable” trademark by using the slogan on the singer’s upcoming U.S. concert tour without permission.

The company, in the lawsuit filed on Friday in U.S. district court in Tampa, charged trademark dilution and infringement, unfair competition, injury to business reputation and unjust enrichment.

“We have authorized licensees for Ringling Bros. and The Greatest Show On Earth, but Kid Rock is not one of them,” Feld general counsel Lisa Joiner said in a Friday statement.

Among Feld’s licensees are restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, telecommunications provider MetroPCS

and nonprofit Easterseals, according to the lawsuit. Representatives for Kid Rock and Live Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

The company said it had contacted Kid Rock and Live Nation repeatedly to ask that they stop using the slogan but was ignored.

The lawsuit asked the court to stop the unauthorized usage of the slogan in connection with Kid Rock’s tour and merchandise, and award Feld profits derived from the slogan’s use and triple unspecified damages.

In May, Feld Entertainment ended its storied Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in New York after nearly 150 years of showcasing animals, clowns and acrobats to millions.

The finale came a year after the company bowed to pressure from animal rights activists and agreed to stop using elephants as its featured attraction in its performances, which it said affected ticket sales amid high operating costs.

Feld earned more than $50 million annually in the last five years from goods and services sold under the trademark, according to the lawsuit. (rtr)

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Head clown Davis Vassallo performs during the last show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, May 21, 2017.

L-R Israeli film producer Ram Bergman, US film director Rian Johnson, British actress Daisy Ridley, US actor Mark Hamill pose at the red carpet for the Chinese premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ at the Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai on December 20, 2017.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ soars to $745 million worldwide

LOS ANGELES - Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is showing plenty of force at mulitplexes worldwide with $745.4 million globally as of Sunday.

The North American take has hit $365 million in its first 10 days as of Sunday with the studio projecting another $32 million on Christmas Day on Monday - making it the third highest domestic release in 2017 following “Beauty and the Beast” with $504 million and “Wonder Woman” at $412 million.

“Stars Wars: The Last Jedi” has totaled $380.3 million in international box office. It is already the top grossing film of 2017 in both Denmark and Sweden and the fourth highest grosser in the overall European market. The U.K. is the top market with $67.4 million, followed by Germany with $40 million, France with $29.3 million and Australia with $26.9 million.

“The Last Jedi,” which picks up following the events of 2015’s

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” is so far the 87th highest worldwide grosser of all time, trailing 2016’s “Suicide Squad” by $1.4 million. Rian Johnson directed with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson reprising their roles. It’s the final screen role for Fisher, who died a year ago.

Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” have also opened solidly while Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” is drawing respectably at the domestic box office. But moviegoers are showing little interest in Paramount’s “Downsizing” and Warner Bros.-Alcon’s “Father Figures.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

opened with the second-largest North American launch ever in its first weekend with $220 million.

It faced competition for the first time on Dec. 20, with Sony’s action comedy “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which is leading the rest of the pack with $34 million at 3,765 sites for Friday-Sunday and a sixday total of around $64 million.

Josh Greenstein, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, pointed to the A- CinemaScore as an indication that “Jumanji” is attracting all demographics. “We have incredible momentum as we go into the biggest moviegoing week of the year,” he added.

“Jumanji” also opened solidly with $49.5 million in 53 international markets, finishing ahead of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in 28 territories. Its top performance came in the U.K. with a secondplace finish at $10.1 million including previews. (rtr)

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A man dressed in a Santa Claus outfit waves to people from a fisherman’s boat on Christmas Eve along the coast of Valparaiso, Chile, December 24, 2017.

Mideast needs two-state solution, Pope says in Christmas message

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis used his Christmas message on Monday to call for a negotiated two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after U.S. President Donald Trump stoked regional tensions with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Francis spoke of the Middle East conflict and other world flashpoints in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address, four days after more than 120 countries backed a U.N. resolution urging the United States to reverse its decision on Jerusalem.

“Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognised borders,” he said, referring to the Israelis and Palestinians.

“We see Jesus in the children of the Middle East who continue to suffer because of growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said in his address, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to tens of thousands of people.

It was the second time that the pope has spoken out publicly about Jerusalem since Trump’s decision on Dec. 6. On that day, Francis called for the city’s “status quo” to be respected, lest new tensions in the Middle East further inflame world conflicts.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state, whereas Israel has declared the whole city to be its “united and eternal” capital.

Francis, leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, urged people to see the defenceless baby Jesus in the children who suffer the

most from war, migration and natural calamities caused by man today.

“Today, as the winds of war are blowing in our world ... Christmas invites us to focus on the sign of the child and to recognise him in the faces of little children, especially those for whom, like Jesus, ‘there is no place in the inn,’” he said.

OPEN HEARTS FOR REFUGEES Francis, celebrating the fifth Christmas of his pontificate, said he had seen Jesus in the children he met during his recent trip to Myanmar and Ban-

gladesh, and he called for adequate protection of the dignity of minority groups in that region. More than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya people have fled mainly Buddhist Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent months. The pope had to tread a delicate diplomatic line during his visit, avoiding the word “Rohingya” while in Myanmar, which does not recognise them as a minority group, though he used the term when in Bangladesh.

“Jesus knows well the pain of not being welcomed and how hard it is not to have a place to lay one’s head. May our hearts not be closed as they were in the homes of Bethlehem,” he said.

He also urged the world to see Jesus in the innocent children suffering from wars in Syria and Iraq and also in Yemen, complaining that its people had been “largely forgotten, with seri-

ous humanitarian implications for its people, who suffer from hunger and the spread of diseases”. He also listed conflicts affecting children in South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ukraine and Venezuela.

At his Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, Francis strongly defended immigrants, comparing them to Mary and Joseph finding no place to stay in Bethlehem and saying faith demands that foreigners be welcomed.(rtr) 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.